Drabbles
by TheUltimateCokeBear
Summary: A series of oneshots inspired by imagineyourotp. Some might be in the present, some might be in the future, some might even be AU, but they'll always be about everyone's favorite alien princess and Boy Wonder. [RobStar]
1. chopsticks

A/N:

Hello friends I am here!

So I did a thing. Excuse me if I'm a little rusty, it's been a while, but I love me some RobStar so here's this. I'm working on getting my 'sealegs' back or whatever metaphor best works for getting back into writing. I'll keep this brief and say more at the end. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Titan Titans or any other pop culture references. Obvs.

* * *

This was all Beast Boy's fault. If the changeling hadn't convinced the whole team to go out to that new vegan-friendly Chinese restaurant, Robin wouldn't be sitting there with his hand on Starfire's, speechless and blushing. He'd probably be sitting at home, at his desk, in the crime lab and working on reports instead of struggling to form words while Cyborg and Beast Boy grinned wickedly at him.

If Beast Boy just hadn't seen today's mail…

Earlier that day, Cyborg had strolled into the common room with a large wooden crate atop his right shoulder. "Mail call, ya'll!" he announced, striding over to the counter and dumping the box on top of it.

Starfire looked up from where she was playing with Silkie on the couch; gently setting her pet next to Beast Boy, who was intensely focused on his latest video game, she flew over join Cyborg in the kitchen.

"Glorious!" she exclaimed, alighting next to him and beaming. She looked on excitedly while Cyborg pried the top off, revealing a sizeable mass of papers inside.

The two Titans both grabbed a handful of the contents and set themselves to sorting through it, used to this ritual by now. Though the post office was kind enough to send the Titans their mail across the water, the teenagers still had to sort through all the post they received. Most of it was fan mail, letters, and the occasional package from citizens of all ages, which had to be sorted according to which Titan it was addressed, but there was always a bit of spam mail and advertisements that were put into all P.O. boxes.

The pair went through their respective piles of paper in silence for a few moments, Cyborg chuckling at a poem addressed to Raven by a goth boy while Starfire smiled affectionately at a child's crayon drawing of Robin.

"Hey B.B., wanna come help?" Cyborg called to his green friend as he set aside a small pile of letters with his own name on them.

"Muh." Beast Boy made a noncommittal noise, eyes were still glued to the screen.

The mechanical Titan eyed the back of his friends head, then glanced back down at the papers in his hand. "Alright, I guess I'll just open this letter from last year's Miss Jump City myself," he lamented loudly with a shrug.

Almost as soon as he had said it, there was a clatter of plastic on the floor as Beast Boy dropped his remote and launched himself over the back of the couch. "Dibs!" he yelled, hurtling into the kitchen and snatching a piece of paper out of Cyborg's hand.

Skidding to a halt, he eagerly began to read the letter, only to realize it wasn't a letter at all but a takeout menu advertising a new Chinese restaurant. "Aw man," he whined, slapping it down on the counter and slouching into a seat next to Starfire. "That's not funny, Cy," he grumbled, pointed ears drooping, "you know how much I like Miss Jump City."

"Gotcha over here, didn't it?" Cyborg teased, grinning. He pinched Beast Boy's ear and wiggled it, the green boy swatting his hand away away and picking up the menu to glance over it idly.

Beast Boy's ears had just begun to perk up when the doors at the top of the steps swished open as Raven entered, an empty mug in her hand. She floated over to join her teammates in the kitchen, pouring herself a new cup of tea from the kettle on the stove.

"Mail?" she queried, giving a passing glance to the neat piles taking up most of the counter space.

"Indeed!" Starfire replied, putting down a letter she had been reading. "I enjoy very much the kind words people send us," she said, beaming warmly at the mail scattered around.

"Hey Raven, this guy has some kind words for you," Cyborg said, waving a rectangular pant sample (the same shade of blue as her cape) with words written on it in her direction, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Raven cocked an eyebrow but took it. "He couldn't have just used a piece of paper like a normal person?" she asked dryly, beginning to read it as she sipped her tea.

A moment later there was a choking noise and black energy enveloped the letters and blasted them into the air, causing Starfire to shriek in surprise and Beast Boy to topple over onto the ground with a yelp.

Raven coughed wildly and glared at Cyborg as the mail fluttered down around them, the latter looking sheepish.

"You thought that would be _funny_?" she growled, and he held up his hands defensively.

"The _letter_, yeah! I didn't think you'd react that way!" he said indignantly, quickly moving a few steps back as Raven's eyes flashed red.

"Cyborg, please: what is the meaning of this phrase?"

Both Raven and Cyborg's heads swiveled to Starfire, who had picked up the discarded fan mail to see what had so upset her friend. Cyborg's eye widened in alarm and it was Raven's turn to grin maliciously. "Uhh…"

The alien squinted at the writing. "Is he saying he wishes t-"

"Oo-kay, that's enough!" the older Titan said quickly, snatching the card from Starfire and crumpling it up.

The Tamaranian's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she watched Cyborg toss it over his shoulder. Meanwhile, Beast Boy made his way back onto his chair with one hand, the other still holding the takeout menu.

"Guys!" His friends' attention captured, he waved the menu in their faces. "We have to go here!"

"And where exactly is that?" Raven asked, trying to get a good look at the front of the pamphlet while he shook it.

"If it's some weird new vegetarian place- " Cyborg began, but Beast Boy flailed his arms around to cut him off.

"First of all, vegetarian places aren't weird," he informed Cyborg haughtily. "Second, that's why this place is perfect! The menu has a bunch of stuff that I like, but a bunch of stuff you like too!"

Cyborg cocked his eyebrow. "…really?" he asked after a moment, sounding skeptical yet intrigued.

"Yeah dude, check it out!" Beast Boy grinned and thrust the paper at Cyborg, who took it and began to scan the words as Robin entered the room.

"Hey guys, what's up?" he asked, making his way over to the table and coming to a halt between Starfire and Cyborg. "Mail?"

"Nope, lunch!" Beast Boy crowed excitedly.

"Lunch?" Robin repeated, slightly confused. "It's one-thirty."

"Aw, pleeeeease, Robin?" the changeling whined, gripping his hands together in a begging gesture. "I'm hungry, I bet everyone else is too- "

"I'm good," Raven interjected.

"- so let's good get some food, it's Sunday afternoon and all the bad guys are probably taking time off too!" Beast Boy finished, ignoring Raven.

Robin frowned. "Crime doesn't have a calendar, Beast Boy," he told his teammate, turning to the pile of mail on the table and beginning to sift through it. He unfolded a piece of paper with "_to the teen titans_" scrawled on it to find an admittedly impressive schoolchild's drawing of the team in front of the Tower, smiling and waving. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards.

"Dude, come on!"

Any hint of a smile dropped off Robin's face and his attention was dragged back to Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy, we have things to do today. I have paperwork, we have training scheduled later-"

"Yeah, so that's why we should go right now!" Beast Boy said brightly. "That way we'll be ready for all that stuff later!"

"But-"

"Actually Rob, this place looks pretty cool," Cyborg interrupted, lifting his head up from reading the menu. "I wouldn't mind going. And BB does have a point; if we eat now, we won't be all full for training later."

Robin's mask sloped downwards, the wind taken out of his sails. He turned to the girls. "Do you guys want to go, too?"

Raven shrugged but Starfire nodded enthusiastically, almost as excited as Beast Boy. "I would be most excited to try the food of China; I have not previously tasted it, and it looks delightful," she said, clasping her hands and looking starry-eyed. Beast Boy and Cyborg grinned to each other, knowing that now that Starfire had said she wanted to go there was no way Robin would say no.

"…fine," Robin grumbled. "But we have to be back by four."

Beast Boy laughed and punched the air. "Sweet! I call shotgun!" he shouted over his shoulder, racing towards the garage. Cyborg's face dropped immediately and he took after the younger Titan.

"Oh no you don't! Not after what happened last week!" the rest of the team could hear him shouting down the hall.

Raven sighed and floated out, followed by Starfire. Robin looked at the mail and sighed as well, then walked after them.

"So, whatta guys think?" Beast Boy asked the other Titans seated around the table, leaning on it confidently as a server placed their meals in front of them.

"Not bad, B," Cyborg admitted. "This place is pretty nice."

"It is wonderful!" Starfire agreed. "The atmosphere is fascinating, although I am not sure I understand the chopping sticks," she said, sliding her disposable chopsticks out of their packaging and examining them. "Do they function as knives of some sort?"

Robin chuckled. "No Star, they're called chopsticks. It's what people in China traditionally use to eat their food; kind of like how we use forks."

She watched her friends pull theirs apart in preparation for eating; carefully, so as not to break the fragile wood with her alien strength, Starfire mimicked the action and smiled when her chopsticks broke apart cleanly. She then proceeded to stab the contents of her plate with the sticks and lift the food to her mouth.

Raven looked up from her soup, staring in surprise at her friend. "Uh… Starfire? I think you're using them the wrong way…"

"Hm?" Starfire paused in her eating. Looking around, Raven appeared to be right; all the other Titans were holding both sticks in one hand and not piercing their food at all. A red tint appeared under her orange skin. "Oh, my apologies…"

Robin smiled affectionately at her. "Here, I'll show you." Shifting slightly to his right where she sat next to him, he brought his hand near hers, holding his chopsticks properly. "This is how it should look."

Starfire studied his hand for a moment, then attempted to rearrange her own to copy it. A frown crinkled her forehead as she tried and failed to hold both in one hand as Robin did.

After watching her struggle with her chopsticks for about fifteen seconds, Robin put his down and intervened. "It's sort of like holding a pencil," he explained, taking Starfire's chopsticks. Holding her right hand in his, he gently maneuvered it into the right position and placed the sticks properly in it. Positioning her fingers around them and closing her thumb over it all, he smiled her. "There."

Starfire blinked at her hand and then looked at her food. She tentatively prodded at her meal with the tips of her chopsticks. "This does not seem to be very effective," she noted.

"No, you have to open them," Robin explained, demonstrating with his own, "and pick up the food with them, like this."

Starfire watched intently and nodded, causing a smile to tug at the corners of his mouth. Looking at her hand again, she hesitantly shifted her fingers, uttering a noise of surprise when the top chopstick rolled between her fingers and dropped to the table. She muttered something in Tamaranian under her breath and put it back in her hand, determined to get it right, only to fumble both this time.

She turned to Robin, a distressed crinkle appearing between her small eyebrows. "I do not understand how to operate this utensil," Starfire said plainly, a hint of frustration in her voice.

"Let me help," Robin offered, and she picked up the chopsticks a final time, pleased to at least get the position correct on her own. Hand prepared, she extended it towards Robin.

"You just have to keep pressure on the bottom one with your thumb but keep a lighter grip on the top…"

He wrapped his hand around hers, ignoring the sudden increase in his heartbeat. Leaning in closer to her, he gently applied pressure with his thumb onto hers and curled his fingers around her own curled ones to keep the bottom chopstick in place. Finally, he rested his pointer finger lightly on top of hers.

"There," he murmured, eyes flicking up to study Starfire's face for a moment. She was watching their hands, lips pursed, eyebrows furrowed slightly, obviously engrossed in what she was doing. He always liked seeing her focused like this; one of his favorite things about Starfire was her curiosity and the joy she got from learning, be it about Raven's meditations or the plot of Beast Boy's favorite cartoon.

"…hello? Yo, lover boy!"

Cyborg's voice cutting through his musings, Robin blinked and looked away from his best friend.

"What?" he snapped irately at the older Titan, whose smug grin matched Beast Boy's next to him.

"Hey," said Cyborg innocently, holding up his hands in defense, "I just thought I'd let you know that Starfire's food is getting cold, so you might wanna finish up your lesson."

And so there Robin was, frozen in place but becoming hotter as an embarrassed flush crawled up his back upon remembering he was in public. He opened his mouth to retort, realizing a second too late that he had thought of nothing to say, so all that came out was, "…uhhh…"

"Robin?"

"Huh?" He snapped his head back to Starfire, who was looking at him with those big green eyes, her confusion evident in them; whether it was about the sudden halt in instruction or what Cyborg had just said, he wasn't sure. "Oh. Yea- yeah," he mumbled hastily, quickly removing his hand from hers. Starfire's eyes widened and she slumped slightly, wondering if she had done something wrong.

Robin cleared his throat and tried to sound causal. "You've got most of it; just move your pointer finger down and it should work."

Starfire didn't look very confident but did as he said, holding her chopsticks over a piece of chicken and pinching it in them. She squeezed her hand and lifted; a moment later she let out a delighted giggle as it successfully traveled through the air to her mouth.

Chewing and swallowing, she smiled. "Glorious!"

Cyborg waggled his eyebrow at Robin. "Looks like you're a good teacher," he said, unfazed by the heated glare Robin was sending him.

"Agreed, Cyborg; Robin was most helpful," Starfire chimed in between mouthfuls of food, not catching the teasing tone in her friend's voice.

"He's pretty good at hands-on help," Beast Boy continued, nudging Cyborg and grinning. The two snickered to each other while Raven rolled her eyes.

"You guys know we still have training later, right?" she reminded them.

The two stopped laughing abruptly and looked at Robin, who was now smiling in a way that worried them.

* * *

A/N:

So there's that. Basically what this is going to be is exactly what the title says, just a collection of drabbles inspired by stuff from that imagineyourotp tumblr. Some of them will be like this one, more in the current timeframe of the show, some might take place in the future, some might even be AU-ish, who knows what'll happen! It'll always be Robin and Starfire though. So yeah, taking a moment to credit the imagineyourotp tumblr, since that's exclusively where I'm getting the inspiration for each drabble (I might tweak or twist the prompt a little but that's generally what I'm looking at). Just wanted to make sure to give credit where it's due, don't wanna offend anyone or make something think they're getting ripped off. (Would that even happen? I dunno. Whatever.)

I'm on summer break right now, so I'm planning on doing more of these. Don't worry about this being abandoned (at least until August ahaha just kidding (sort of)). I don't know if I'll be finishing my other two stories I started a long time ago, since I kind of forgot where I was going with them, but if I ever do remember enough I'll write it down somewhere and see about finishing it.

But! I did get a new idea for a new story, the first two chapters of which I have actually written! I'm not going to post it yet, mostly because I want to have a good amount down before I start publishing it, that way it won't end up unfinished or abandoned/forgotten. I do have it though. So yeah, that's all for now. I hope that was a pleasant reading experience for you!

May the force be with you (I'm going to Star Wars Weekend with my best friends Saturday and I am totes stoked)

-Renee


	2. very much so

A/N:

Boom another! I don't have a set interval or anything for publishing stuff, so just a heads up that I won't be updating according to any kind of schedule. This one is a little shorter so that's part of it.

I promise all of these won't rely on the whole "Beast Boy and Cyborg tease Robin" thing, it just so happened that that's how it's going so far. But yeah. It'll diversify, promise.

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or any other copyrighted/trademarked things mentioned.

* * *

The Teen Titans had been living together for about three weeks now, and by this point everyone was beginning to understand each other's personalities and quirks.

For example, now that Raven was beginning to come out of her shell, the other Titans quickly became aware of her quick wit and intense desire for privacy. Beast Boy had learned the hard way to not enter her room with her express permission, even if he was just trying to find her.

Speaking of the changling, Beast Boy's upbeat personality had not disappeared, though he had learned to tone down his enthusiasm. After the first two weeks of continually deferring in awe to Robin, Beast Boy had finally stopped calling him 'sir' (to the older boy's relief), though this resulted his acting more mischievously.

Cyborg had taken a liking to Beast Boy, revealing a decidedly less-serious, childish side that gelled well with the green boy (that is, when they weren't arguing over food). Beast Boy had been the first person to make Cyborg feel better about his appearance, and for that he truly appreciated the imp. Cyborg also appreciated his developing friendship with Robin, who was closer to his age and shared his intellectual interests. Once Robin had warmed up to Cyborg enough to talk to him in a more relaxed manner, Cyborg had experienced a fanboy moment over the fact that he was talking to _Robin_, of _Batman and Robin_ (luckily, he managed to control his excitement better than Beast Boy). Even though he had initially been put off by Robin's attitude when they first met, through working with him on the communicators, Cyborg had come to understand that Robin was not as arrogant or aloof as he had first seemed.

Robin was slowly starting to loosen up more often and for longer periods of time, revealing a teenager who was able to actually smile and joke around once in a while. This more relaxed side came out most often around Starfire, who he had obviously taken a shine to.

Starfire had also developed a fondness for her leader, though this initially hard to tell due to her extremely affectionate nature that was in stark contrast to the fierce girl who tried to fry them with her starbolts almost a month ago. Though she was doing her best to adjust to Earth life and customs, she was still very prone to doing things that surprised (and on the occasion of their very first meal together, terrified) her new friends.

Like today, for example.

The Tower was just about completed. The teens were still in the process of moving in and making it a home, but the basics had been covered: they were able to eat, sleep, and communicate well enough for now.

Cyborg and Robin were near the large windows that looked out over the bay, working on the computer they had hooked up into the middle window. Robin sat at the console and tapped away while Cyborg finished up the final touches on the monitor.

Since the TV was unusable at this time, Beast Boy was slouched in his seat at the table, his entire posture screaming how bored he was. He was flipping listlessly through a gossip magazine he'd found somewhere in the Tower when the door swished open and Starfire and Raven walked through.

To say the girls were engaged in conversation would not be exactly correct – more like, Starfire was engaged in conversation and Raven was seeing how long her patience would last. Though none of the other Titans knew much about relationships on Starfire's home planet, Starfire had begun to pick up on Earth's and had recently started to try to bond with Raven like she had seen girls on TV do. Unfortunately for Starfire, Raven was not much for hair-braiding or nail-painting, so she had altered her strategy and was trying to understand things Raven liked.

"So must the phrase one chants always be 'Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos,' or is it something to be decided invididually?" Starfire was asking.

"It works for me," Raven muttered, veering over to the kitchen in an attempt to end the conversation. Starfire was nice, she really was, but Raven was still not used to living with people and having friends and she just wanted some time to be by herself. In an attempt to divert Starfire's attention, Raven locked on to the first thing she saw: Beast Boy.

"So…" she began as she slid into a seat across from him, trying and failing to sound sincerely interested, "whatcha reading, Beast Boy?"

The green teen straightened up immediately in surprise, staring at Raven in disbelief for a moment. "Uhh…" He looked at the cover of the magazine in his hands, then back at Raven. "A magazine?"

"Anything interesting in it?" she asked in that same oddly-upbeat voice as Starfire sat next to her.

He squinted at her suspiciously, but a second later his face light up as he remembered something. "Yeah! Dude, check this out," he said excitedly, quickly rifling through the pages.

Raven groaned inwardly; she had wanted Starfire's attention on Beast Boy, not both of theirs on her.

Beast Boy finally found the page he was looking for and shoved the magazine in the girls' direction to show them. "Look, it's us!"

Her interest genuinely peaked this time, Raven leaned in with Starfire to see a picture of the Titans taken during a peaceful moment. Judging from the beaten-up criminal in the background, the photo had been taken last week. Underneath the image were a few paragraphs gushing over the Titans, specifically their appearances.

"They said I had 'boyish good looks,'" Beast Boy pointed out proudly, wiggling his eyebrows at Raven.

She gave him a look and continued to read the article, her eyebrows furrowing as she frowned. "'Saved by Sex Appeal'?" she read disbelievingly. "This article is about how attractive some reporter thinks we are!"

"What, you don't think we're attractive?" Beast Boy teased, only to let out a squeak of terror as Raven glared at him.

"We saved the city, and all they can talk about is our looks? Look at what they said about Robin and his-" Feeling herself starting to flush, Raven stopped herself and scowled at the red that she knew was easily visible on her grey cheeks.

Beast Boy's confidence returned again and he grinned, pulling the magazine back to see what had made her blush. "And his _butt_?" he finished for her, cackling.

Across the room, Robin stiffened abruptly as Cyborg let out a guffaw.

"What!?" he exclaimed, dropping his tools and racing over to read for himself.

Robin twisted in his seat and protested. "Cyborg-!"

"Hold on dude, I just wanna read about your butt," Cyborg said over his shoulder, waving a hand at him. After a moment he burst into laughter. "Oh man- oh, man," he managed between giggles, wiping a tear from his eye. "That is too good. Star, do you agree with this?"

Starfire, who had been looking from person to person in confusion during the whole conversation, turned to Cyborg, hoping to understand what was going on. "Agree with what?" she asked.

Robin shot Cyborg an angry look and he amended his question to be more appropriate for Starfire. "Uh, do you think Robin is attractive?" he clarified, grinning as he made eye contact with Beast Boy. Across the room, Robin's ears became red and he swiveled back around to place his hands on the keyboard console, though no clicking keys could be heard.

The room was silent for a moment, and then:

"Very much so," Starfire replied in a matter-of-fact voice, as if she was giving Cyborg the time. She barely had time to register the looks of surprise on her friends' faces before the monitor suddenly came to life, a random cartoon blaring across the speakers.

The Titans in the kitchen covered their ears as Robin quickly shut the system off, mumbling something about how his "finger slipped" as he hastily retreated to his room.

Starfire did not understand what she had done wrong until it was explained to her that, unlike on Tamaran, directly acknowledging someone's physical attractiveness in front of them was not something most friends did outside of romantic relationships. Upon learning this she blushed appropriately and made her own exit, finally giving Raven the peace she desired.

"Hey Raven, wanna see what they said about you?"

Or not.

* * *

A/N:

So there's two. Being pale also I feel Raven's pain; we had a discussion of a bidet in one of my classes this past semester (which went on way longer than it should've, I don't understand why everyone couldn't move on, like oh you wash yourself instead of using toilet paper big deal) and my teacher actually attempted to demonstrate with a desk, and my roommate told me my face was super red when it happened, which does not surprise me cause I felt pretty embarassed but it's still sort of annoying because my face doesn't feel hot, just my ears. It happened a lot my senior year of high school too.

Anyways, yeah. I forgot to mention that these are going to vary in length and there will definitely be some in the future that will just be Robin and Starfire and not so much of the rest of the team. I just love all the friendships and relationships between all of them and yeah good dynamics. They're my teamtp (or something).

Ok bye! Til next update.

- Renee


	3. stuffed animals

A/N:

Here's a shorter one. Some will be like that, so just a heads up. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or anything else mentioned here that really exists and is someone else's.

* * *

Starfire loved stuffed animals.

Ever since she had seen the giant chicken Beast Boy had won for Raven, the alien had been hooked. Anytime she saw them while she was out, her attention was immediately stolen as she quickly zipped over to coo at the plush toys (unless it was during a battle, in which case she would return afterwards to make sure they were unharmed).

However, Starfire's own collection of stuffed animals was smaller than one would expect, given her borderline obsession with them. She did have a lot, that much was true, but she didn't buy every single one she saw. Though she found them all adorable, very few earned the honor of being bought by her and placed in the limited space reserved for stuffed animals in her room.

No, most of Starfire's stuffed animals were gifts.

Once the other Titans had discovered this affinity also, buying presents for her became much easier. This was the main reason why Starfire had so many animals, but she liked it that way. Not because she was cheap and didn't want to spend money, but because she treasured the animals her friends gave her.

There were four that were particularly special to her.

The first was a small purple bear, one of the first gifts she received on Earth. It had been the team's first visit to the carnival by the piers. Robin had demonstrated how the games worked, winning the bear in the process. Though it was made of the cheap material common to carnival prizes and not particularly appealing, Starfire had been so delighted when she saw the booth operator hand it to Robin that the Boy Wonder couldn't help but offer it to her. The hug she had given him afterwards had equally delighted Robin, though he would have vehemently denied it had anyone asked.

The second animal was a welcome-home present from all the Titans after Starfire's transformation mishap. They had picked out a white, very fluffy unicorn with a horn made out of a separate silver material. She had not yet seen a unicorn, so she had been amazed to see something so adorable with a horn similar to the one she had had so recently. It had warmed her heart to know that her friends cared for her and wanted her around, horn or not, and for that it was special to her.

The third animal was another gift from Robin (a pre-planned one this time). After some complicated math converting Tamaranian years to Earth years, the Titans had managed to figure out when Starfire's birthday was. They had thrown her a party, and when she had opened her present from Robin, a soft brown teddy bear with her name stitched on its stomach in purple cursive, she tackled him in a hug of gratitude that almost knocked the throknar off of her head.

The fourth animal Starfire was so fond of that she could often be found sleeping with it. Surprisingly, it was not from Robin. It was a Christmas gift from Cyborg after the Titanimal incident, who had thought it would be clever to give Starfire a brown stuffed monkey, complete with a red vest and domino mask.

Robin had glared at his friend, but Starfire had been overjoyed. She squealed happily and hugged it, then flew over to hug Cyborg tightly as well.

Cyborg hadn't forgotten his leader, however; Robin also received a stuffed orange tiger (how Cyborg had managed to find one with green eyes – or a mask for the monkey for that matter – Robin would never figure out). Though he had rolled his eyes at it and left it untouched for the rest of the day, the tiger could later be found in his room, sitting on his desk next to a framed photo of the Titans.

* * *

A/N:

Soo ya. A little shorter but that's what I'm going for, different moments and aspects of their relationship. Next time it's definitely going to be just Robin and Starfire with actual dialogue and stuff.

Also, thank you to everyone who's read and favorited/followed/reviewed so far! I'm not doing this for the follows or whatever, but I really appreciate them, it's really nice to see that people like and are interested in it. So really, thank you. (:

Also this is irrelevant but Star Wars weekend was awesome. There was a ridiculously handsome Luke Skywalker and I made a lightsaber and yeah lots of cool stuff there, 10/10 five stars would recommend. If anyone has any good Star Wars fics to recommend I would definitely be interested. But uh yeah this is the Teen Titans area so yeah Teen Titans stuff. That new Teen Titans Go! episode ("Hey Pizza") was pretty cute I think.

I'll stop now. Byeeeeeeeeeeee!

-Renee


	4. long trip

A/N:

Hello! Not much to say here. I really like this whole 'oneshot' deal since I'm very bad at finishing things that go on for a while, so this is good for me. Keeps me putting stuff up. It's a good thing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or Gotham City or Batman (if only~) or anything else famous and profitable.

* * *

Five weeks ago, Robin had been called away to Gotham City by someone he used to work with. Starfire wasn't familiar with the city or the man that had called Robin, but judging from her friends' awed responses to Robin's heavy-hearted announcement that he had to leave, both had quite the reputation. Robin told them he wasn't sure how long he would be gone, only that he would be back as soon as possible. He entrusted Cyborg, who was in charge while he was gone, with information on how to contact him in case of an emergency.

Five weeks ago, Robin lingered as he said goodbye to Starfire, their hug lasting longer than the other's had. "I'll miss you, Star," he had murmured in her ear as she gripped the fabric of his uniform on his shoulder. She'd simply hugged him tighter. He promised them he'd check in as often as possible.

Five weeks ago, Robin had hopped on his R-cycle and driven off to Gotham.

Five weeks ago.

Five weeks.

The first week he had called them from his communicator to let them know he had arrived safely. He had video-called three days afterwards to check in with them; the dark, cave-like background behind Robin threw Beast Boy into an excited fit for reasons Starfire didn't understand, though she was also extremely excited (for different reasons). To her disappointment, about five minutes into the conversation a dark shadow passed behind Robin and gruff voice told him it was time to go, so Robin was forced to quickly bid his friends adieu and sign off.

Eventually, Starfire had begun to feel the familiar 'Robin-withdrawal' symptoms that had plagued her during Robin's absence when he'd gone on his quest. She'd managed to stave them off until the middle of the second week, but then he had called her on her communicator and she began to hover at the sight of his smiling face. He'd found a free moment and wanted to say hello and see how everything was back home. Unfortunately, they barely had time to exchange pleasantries before there was an explosion on Robin's end and he hastily told her, "Gotta go!" before hanging up. She had worried about him for the next hour and a half before she received a brief text message from him that he was ok and he would talk to her later.

Seeing Robin's face and hearing his voice, only to have him leave almost as soon as he had appeared, had made her acutely aware of his absence, causing her to mope around for the next two weeks.

During these two weeks, the Titans had had a free day to goof around. The others had noticed how melancholy Starfire had become (though she hid it well), so they attempted to cheer her up by going 'Robin-ing' again. Starfire had fun that day, but at the end of it, no longer distracted by the antics of her friends, the sadness returned.

Starfire had hesitated as she went to put the used Robin uniform in the washer. She bowed her head and hugged the fabric tightly, briefly imagining that the one it belonged to was there. Her heart raced as she suddenly smelled him again and her eyes snapped open, only to realize that she had her nose buried in the cape. Starfire decided to hang on to it, claiming that it had just the right size and thickness to make the perfect blanket.

The other Titans went along with it, happy as long as Starfire was happy. And she did seem happier, covering herself in the cape when they watched movies on the couch together at night, inhaling the familiar smell of clean clothes with a hint of musk.

Five weeks to the day after Robin left, Starfire lay asleep on the couch, covered by his cape. The past few days had yielded nothing from Robin since his last call the week before. Though Starfire still missed her best friend dearly, the ache had become more manageable (despite the lack of contact), or at least, easier to forget about when she was with her friends.

So, she had suggested a movie night that night. She and Cyborg had fallen asleep during the film, leaving Beast Boy to wake them up as Raven had retired halfway through to fall asleep in her own bed. After the movie, Beast Boy roused Cyborg, who took some shaking but finally woke up. Starfire was asleep on his shoulder, so he shifted her carefully onto the pillows of the couch (neither boy tried to wake her up, knowing how cranky she could get) before lumbering sleepily out of the common room after Beast Boy.

A few hours after midnight, the doors to the common room opened again. Robin walked in quietly, stretching and yawning. He had finally wrapped up his business in Gotham and had headed back to Jump City as soon as possible, even though it meant arriving home when his friends would all be asleep.

He had just been imagining the surprised looks on their faces (particularly Starfire's) when he noticed the menu continuing to loop on the large TV. Sighing to himself and making a mental note to remind them about the importance of turning off the DVD player when they were done, he strode over to do it himself.

Robin set his duffel bag down and was just about to press the off button when he heard a noise behind him. Still on alert from his trip, he whirled around quickly, fists up, only to see Starfire snuggling deeper into the couch cushions and pulling her short dark blanket tighter around herself.

He immediately relaxed and smiled, warmth spreading through his body at the sight of her. She looked beautiful in the soft blue light from the TV. Her flaming hair was slowly falling from her shoulder to obscure her face, her expression serene, the top of her shoulder peeking out from her yellow blanke-

Wait, yellow? Hadn't it been black two seconds ago?

Moving to sit next to her on the couch, Robin inspected the blanket. Upon taking a closer look, he realized it was his cape. Shaking his head in amusement, he reached out to gently shake her shoulder.

"Starfire. Hey, Starfire. Star."

Her face scrunched up in protest at first as she struggled to remain as close to sleep as possible. "Go away now, please," she mumbled, turning her face into the couch cushions. Robin smirked and continued to shake her.

"Can I at least have my cape back?"

Starfire had just begun to relax into the couch when her body suddenly went rigid, obviously realizing what she had just heard. She snapped her face to Robin, struggling to wake up completely.

"…Robin?" she murmured, eyes wide, trying to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "You are… here?"

"Yup," he replied, grinning at the look on her face.

She sat up properly and the cape slipped from her shoulders onto the floor. Starfire grabbed for it hastily and offered it back to him sheepishly. "I apologize for taking your clothes."

Robin held up a gloved hand. "Don't worry about it," he said, placing his hand on top of hers and lowering them.

Starfire looked down at the cape and then back to Robin, then let go of it and launched herself at him in a fierce hug that forced him to grab the back of the couch to avoid being knocked on his back. "I am happy you are back," she said quietly into his chest, smiling.

He smiled warmly as well and returned the embrace. "Me too. I'm sorry I wasn't able to call you guys more; we barely even had time to sleep and eat."

"It is the all right," she assured him. "I am sure everyone will be happy to see you again as well."

Robin nodded and let his hand slide down her back; she felt a tingling sensation follow it. "I missed you," he said told her in a rare moment of complete openness, perhaps brought on by the privacy or the fact that he hadn't been this close to her in over a month.

She beamed and hugged him tighter. "I missed you as well."

It made her happy to hear him chuckle, feeling it through where she was pressed against his chest. "Yeah, I could tell," he teased, and she giggled, reminding him how much he had missed that sound.

Silence descended upon the pair as they continued to sit and enjoy the embrace while music drifted from the still-playing menu. Robin turned his head to rest his cheek on top of Starfire's ruby hair and closed his eyes. She let out a contented hum and cuddled closer.

It was good to be home.

* * *

A/N:

Seeing someone you love after being apart for a while is really nice. So is hugging them. Feels good man.

Hopefully the timeline made sense! Four and a half weeks went by before she started to get used to him being gone and then he came back at the five week mark. Just clarifying.

Til next time ya'll

-Renee


	5. glow-in-the-dark

A/N:

Hello!

I feel like these are kind of unnecessary except for a greeting since I don't have much to say beforehand. Except something like

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans (or any glow-in-the-dark stars) (yet).

* * *

On the Titan's last excursion out shopping, Beast Boy had wandered down the aisle that displayed the small amount of trinkets and toys the grocery store offered. To his immense delight, he'd found a box of plastic glow-in-the-dark stars. He somehow managed to sneak them past Robin into the cart, and once Starfire had seen them glowing on Beast Boy's ceiling she immediately set to procuring some for herself.

After she had acquired a sufficient amount of them (about six boxes), she set to work decorating her ceiling. She had been at work for about forty-five minutes when there was a knock on her door.

"Starfire?"

"Enter!" she called from her position near the ceiling. She carefully stuck a small star in place as her door swished open and Robin walked in.

"Starfire?" he asked again, looking around in confusion when he didn't see her.

"I am here!" she called, pressing another star near the first.

He craned his neck upwards to see her smile and wave at him. He returned both weakly. "Uh… what are you doing?"

"I am recreating the night sky," she replied cheerfully, continuing to hover back and forth.

Upon hearing this, Robin finally noticed the dozens of other stars scattered on the ceiling. He took a few steps back to better see the vast collection, meticulously arranged to reflect the view from the top of the Tower at night. Smiling, he continued to admire Starfire's handiwork until he looked at the cluster above her bed.

"I don't recognize these constellations," he noted, walking over and squinting up at them.

Starfire paused in her arrangement and twisted around to look at what he was talking about. After glancing at where he was looking, she smiled sheepishly. "Oh, that is because it is the view from Tamaran."

_Of course she would put the view from her home above her bed_, he thought to himself with an amused smile. He laid down on her bed, looking up at the stars. One piece of plastic above the end of the bed was shaped like a planet instead of a star. "Is that Tamaran?" he asked, raising his arm and pointing at it.

Starfire beamed. "Yes! But you are looking at it the wrong way."

Robin raised his head off the pillow to look at her. "The wrong- aaah!" He yelped as Starfire swooped down and grabbed his ankles, quickly spinning him 180 degrees so his head now rested at the end of the bed.

She alighted on the bed and settled next to him, her hair falling over the edge. "This is how it is meant to be viewed," she explained, staring up at the planet.

"Well now that I'm in the right place, do you mind explaining it to me?" he asked wryly.

Excitement shone on Starfire's face and she zipped off the bed so fast Robin felt the wind she generated ruffle his hair. She shut off the lights and closed her curtains before returning to her spot next to Robin, careful not to accidentally lay on him.

The pair waited in the dark for a few moments, and then the stars on the ceiling began to glow.

"Glorious," Starfire breathed next to him, entranced. Robin smiled again, though it was lost in the dark.

"So," he began, nudging her arm (which was close enough to brush his), "what's that circular one just to the right?"

"Oh!" Starfire said, snapping back to reality. "That is the Grenthor constellation; it is named after a mythical shield that is said to be unbreakable, faithfully protecting its owner as long as they posses it. Do you see the five stars nearby?"

"Yeah."

"That is supposedly the owner, Throka'r. Tamaranian legend says that he died in battle after losing his shield, but fought so valiantly to the end that X'hal herself was impressed and gave him a place among the stars."

"That's really cool," Robin commented, smiling. "So are all the stars supposed to be constellations from Tamaran?"

"No; only the ones directly visible from here are," she replied. "The rest are from Earth's night sky; the transition is here." She had flown upwards to the ceiling again to point it out to him; he could only tell where she was indicating by the silhouette of her arm against the glowing stars.

Robin pushed himself up into a sitting position, slowly rotating his head to look. True to her word, he recognized some of the patterns and constellations where she was pointing. "Did you use star charts figure that out?" he asked, trying to figure out how she did it himself.

"I have seen the change with my own eyes, so I simply recreated it," she explained.

Robin stared at her. "You did this from _memory_?"

She landed softly on the floor and he saw her hold her elbow shyly in the dim light. "Um, yes?"

"That's incredible, Star!" he exclaimed, scrambling off of the bed to stand next to her and gaze upwards. "But I think that constellation's a little off."

She squinted at the stars. "Which one?"

"That one over there," he said, carefully walking over to her desk and grabbing her chair. Setting it firmly underneath the constellation Orion, he hopped on top of it as Starfire flew over next to him.

"What is wrong with it?" she enquired, the dim glow illuminating their faces.

"His belt's a little askew," he replied, studying the line of stars in question.

"'Askew'?" Starfire repeated, narrowing her eyes at him and crossing her arms.

"Y'know, off," Robin clarified, looking over at her seriously.

She continued to glower at him. He held her gaze for a moment longer and then grinned suddenly. The scowl disappeared instantly from her face as she blinked in confusion.

"I'm kidding, Star," he told her, gently shoving her arm in a friendly manner. "It's perfect, you did an amazing job."

Starfire blushed and smiled. "I thank you," she said, playfully shoving him back in an attempt to copy his gesture. However, given his wiry frame and her alien strength, she accidentally sent him toppling to the floor with a yelp.

She gasped and zipped over to switch on the light, not wanting to try to land and end up hurting him more. "Robin! Are you the ok?" she asked worriedly, guilt furrowing her eyebrows as she alighted on the floor next to her sprawled friend.

Robin raised his head and looked at her for a moment, then began to laugh and let his head fall to the floor again. She watched him, bewildered, but began to giggle herself after a few seconds.

Their laughter subsided after about thirty seconds. Starfire sobered and placed her hand gingerly on Robin's shoulder. "I apologize for knocking you onto the floor," she said, looking at the floor.

Robin shook his head and smiled. "Don't worry about it. Besides, the view is better from here," he told her, folding his arms behind his head.

Starfire stared at for him, then smiled, shut off the lights again, and rejoined Robin on the floor to stargaze.

"Y'know, I don't think the Big Dipper is that big…"

"Robin!"

* * *

A/N:

So there's that. In my experience, Publix (the only place I buy food from that's mainly a grocery store unlike Wal-Mart or Target) always has this one part of an aisle with a really limited selection of school supplies and toys; like when I was little I remember they had Lisa Frank doodads or other kinda cheap toys there. I dunno if it's the same for places that don't have Publix up north, you guys have Giant Eagle or Big Bear or something (I've only been to Ohio idk), and anyone outside of the US sorry I have no idea. But yeah, that would be where one could possibly find some cool stuff like glow-in-the-dark stars. Enough grocery ramblings ahah. There will be a chapter with a kiss in it soon... very soon... (In case anyone was even wondering ahah)

Catch ya on the flip flop  
-Renee


	6. making out

A/N:

So this chapter came pretty quick because fun fact, when I was little my first favorite superhero was the Flash! So I always enjoy writing Kid Flash. I tend to think of my life in terms of before and after a certain event, and normally I think of my interest in superheroes and DC as a post-Event thing, but I actually was into them pre-Event too; I remember watching Justice League Unlimited and got that movie about them meeting up for the first time and fighting aliens or something on VHS for my birthday (back when my age was a single-digit) and yeah the Flash was my favorite, not Batman. I liked him a lot because he was funny, and I'll always have a special place in my heart for Wally West. I really wish there'd been an episode where Kid Flash and Robin got to interact and be best buds and stuff that would be so cute ughhh.

That being said, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or anything else on (or off) television.

* * *

After defeating Daizo, the Teen Titans had decided to stick around Tokyo for another week and have a proper vacation. Put in a very good mood by his new relationship with Starfire, Robin had easily agreed when Beast Boy suggested it, to the changeling's delight.

Seeing as the Titans East felt the need to return to their own city, Robin asked a few other honorary Titans to watch the Tower until they returned, one of which was Kid Flash. Kid Flash, upon learning the Titans had been out of the country for so long, decided a welcome-back party was in order and invited all of the Titans he could think of.

So, upon setting foot in the darkened common room, the lights switched on and the team was suddenly greeted by the whole Titans network. Kole, along with Melvin, Timmy, and Teether, had decorated a large cloth banner with "WELCOME BACK" written on it. Underneath it, someone had taped a piece of printer paper with "Congrats Robin and Starfire" scrawled on it in loopy, quick strokes (Kid Flash's handwriting, Robin recognized). Bumblebee and Argent had hung streamers around the room and food had been arrayed along the counters (with vegan options for Beast Boy and no fish, as per Aqualad's request).

The Titans had been pleasantly surprised to see all their friends and Speedy switched on the audio system, music starting to play as the party began.

The partygoers had been mingling for a while when Kid Flash finally got around to talking to Robin. "Good party, right?" he asked his friend, grinning and nudging him.

"I'm impressed everyone was able to be here," Robin replied, smiling wryly.

"What about my sign? 'Cause Jinx said it was stupid, but Roy thought it was a good idea," the redhead continued.

"I agree with Jinx," Robin answered dryly.

Kid Flash grinned wider and shrugged. "Can't please everybody. But seriously man, congrats. Glad you stopped dancing around and finally did it," he said, his voice losing the joking edge as he tapped Robin's shoulder with his fist.

Robin smiled at his childhood friend, appreciative. "Thanks Wally."

"No prob. How'd the B-man take it?"

Kid Flash had asked it totally innocently, truly curious to see how Robin's mentor had reacted upon hearing his ward had broken one of his main rules. Robin suddenly paled and a fearful expression crossed his face. He turned on his heel and strode away quickly, mumbling something about finding Starfire (probably to take his mind off the impending lecture).

"He's going to find out eventually; you know he will!" Kid Flash hollered after him, causing a few heroes to turn around and stare at him.

The party continued and the Titans began to get a bit rowdy. Speedy, Mas, and Menos got into an eating contest, resulting in the archer almost choking and having to be rescued by Aqualad; they were saved from being chewed out by Bumblebee as she was deep in conversation with Herald in the corner. Gnarrk and Wildebeest began tossing a crystalized Kole back and forth as Jericho and Bushido watched apprehensively. Kid Flash was also in an energetic mood (more than usual) and somehow figured out how to juggle full cups of punch, to Beast Boy and Cyborg's amazement.

"Jinx! Check this out!" the speedster called over his shoulder while the two original Titans watched, fascinated.

Jinx sighed and turned away from her conversation with Argent and Hot Spot, casting her pink eyes his way. "Impressive," she called to him, smirking at his trademark show-off attitude and turning back around.

Kid Flash twisted his head in her direction and huffed upon seeing she was no longer looking. "'"Impressive'?" he repeated indignantly. "Come on, this at _least _deserves a 'very' – "

_crash_

In whining at Jinx, Kid Flash's attention had not been fully focused on the glasses and he had fumbled them, causing them to shatter on the floor. All talking suddenly stopped as everyone stared at Kid Flash, who waved sheepishly. After a moment the normal volume resumed and he breathed a sigh of relief, only to turn his head into Cyborg's crossed arms.

"You gonna clean that up?" he asked Kid Flash, all traces of amusement from the trick gone from his face.

"Of course I am!" Kid Flash replied, holding up his hands defensively. He zipped away, only to return a second later. "Uh – "

"Cleaning stuff's in the hallway, second door on the left," Cyborg informed him.

Kid Flash pointed his fingers at him and smiled winningly. "I'll be back before the stain sets!" He shot off again and Cyborg shook his head and smiled, the smile morphing into panic seconds later as he saw Mas and Menos continuing their eating contest on the couch, Beast Boy and Speedy egging them on.

"THEY'LL GET KETCHUP ON THE SEATS!"

Meanwhile, Kid Flash had stopped in the hallway, trying to count the doors in the semidarkness. "Let's see," he mumbled to himself as he walked down the hall, "one… two…"

Suddenly he heard a muffled noise to his left. Interest peaked, he moved closer to the door it had come from behind and put his ear up against it.

It was apparently very quiet inside the room, and he didn't hear any voices. He did, however, hear heavy breathing and the sounds of someone briefly shuffling their feet. Kid Flash grinned mischievously and pressed the button to slide open the door, preparing to relentlessly tease whoever was inside. However, when the door slid open and he saw the couple, his mouth dropped open in surprise, all thoughts of ribbing gone from his mind.

It was Robin and Starfire.

The alien princess was leaning against the wall, her arms around the Boy Wonder's neck as they continued kissing, apparently oblivious to the door opening. Robin slid his hands from her waist to hips and broke the kiss to murmur something to his girlfriend, who giggled and nodded before eagerly recapturing his lips.

Kid Flash heard the sound of shuffling feet again and looked down, mildly surprised to see that Starfire was floating a few centimeters above the ground, resulting in Robin having to shift his stance every once in a while as he readjusted his grip on her to keep her close enough to kiss.

Finally collecting his wits, Kid Flash decided to get their attention and coughed.

The couple continued in their liplock. Starfire moved her hand to play with the hair at the nape of Robin's neck and he slipped his arms around her to pull her closer.

Kid Flash frowned and tried again, louder this time. "I said, _a-hem_!"

This time they heard and sprang apart immediately, Starfire partially hiding behind Robin and smiling sheepishly while Robin looked a mixture of embarrassed and angry.

"We- uh, we were just – " he began, attempting an air of composure.

Kid Flash held up his hands, smiling. "Relax, I won't tell anyone." Their tense postures lessened slightly. "As long as you pass me that bottle," he added, pointing to a spray bottle of cleaning fluid on a shelf near Starfire's head. She looked bewildered but did as he asked.

"Thanks. Carry on," he told them with a grin, disappearing in a red-and-gold blur.

Robin and Starfire continued to stare, dumbfounded, at the spot where Kid Flash had just been. He reappeared a moment later.

"Also, you guys might want to move somewhere else, because it looks like those two Guatemalan kids are about to make a huge mess."

An anguished howl from Cyborg confirmed this guess and Kid Flash looked down the hall.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna take all of these," he said, zipping inside the closet and grabbing a large package of paper towels and a few more spray bottles before disappearing again.

Starfire moved to stand next to Robin and he put his arm around her waist. "Should we assist Cyborg?" she asked uncertainly, peering down the hallway where she could hear shouting in English and Spanish.

Robin shook his head resolutely. "No way. I have a feeling there's nothing we can do anyways," he said, taking her hand and tugging her out of the closet. "Besides, the evidence room locks from the inside."

Starfire paused to look at him, confused as to how those two subjects were related. A second later comprehension dawned on her face and she smiled widely before lifting into the air, grabbing her boyfriend under his arms, and flying down the hall into the aforementioned room, the lock clicking securely behind them.

* * *

A/N:

I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin; locking the door is a good thing to remember if you're gonna do stuff like that. It can be pretty embarrassing for everyone involved to be walked in on if they're not as cool as Kid Flash about it.

Also I'm just headcannoning (?) that Robin and Kid Flash and Speedy would use their real names when talking with just each other. They're totes bros. Idk.

Also also, thanks for reviewing and favoriting and stuff! I appreciate it, really. (:

Not a lot to say here sooo yeah later!  
-Renee


	7. christmas morning

A/N:

Hello! Sorry for that dry(ish) spell, I went to visit my family in another state for the past two weeks and was pretty busy. Plus, for some reason, I found this prompt didn't come as easily as others; maybe it's because it's AUish, I dunno. I didn't want to get stuck in a rut so I finally finished it. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Titans or Mar'i or anything else cool.

* * *

It was 6:23 AM in the Grayson household on Christmas morning. Soft gray light had begun to filter in through the windows of the quiet house as snow fell gently outside, completing the serene picture.

"MOMMY! DADDY! CHRISTMAS!"

Dick Grayson groaned and rolled over in bed. "Kory, your daughter is awake."

His wife shifted underneath the sheets next to him, grabbing a handful of covers and pulling them over her red mane of bedhead. "Why is she _my_ daughter whenever she is disruptive?"

A purple-clad blur suddenly streaked through the room and landed in the rumpled sheets between the couple, actually causing them to bounce a few centimeters in the air.

"Because," Dick answered sleepily, "she gets _that_ from you."

The dark-haired little girl in the bed scrambled into a sitting position and began shaking her parents, alternating sides every few seconds. "Mooo-oooom," she whined, bouncing up and down on the mattress from the force of her shoves, "it's Christmas! C'mon, get up get up get up!" She switched and began vigorously shaking her father's shoulder. "Daddy, get up!"

"Daddy's still sleeping, Mar'i," he replied, eyes still closed despite her jostling.

Kory realized she wasn't going to get any more sleep and pushed herself up into a sitting position, yawning and stretching. Turning to Mar'i, she smiled affectionately and stroked her long, dark hair. "Perhaps Daddy requires a little more help waking up," she suggested, eyes sparkling mischievously.

Mar'i twisted around to look at her mother, then grinned (she looked so much like Dick when she smiled, Kory thought warmly) and floated over her father. Grabbing his wrists in her own tiny hands, she pulled backwards in an attempt to literally get him up. "Wake upppp!" she demanded, her inherited superhuman strength from her mother aiding her in swiftly pulling Dick into a sitting position.

He blinked blearily as his daughter beamed at him. "Merry Christmas, Daddy!" the six-year-old exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck in a hug.

Dick smiled and hugged her back tightly. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart," he yawned, raising a fist to cover his mouth.

She pulled back and looked excited. "Can we open presents now?" she asked eagerly, looking to her mother.

"Go find Silkie and wait for us by the tree, I will wake your father," Kory told her, as Dick had flopped backwards into bed, eyes shut again. Kory wasn't surprised; he had been up until almost three in the morning wrapping the last of Mar'i's presents and arranging them under the tree, his obsessive attention to detail not having changed much since their Teen Titan years.

Mar'i nodded and zipped out of the room, in search of the now-elderly larva.

Kory watched her leave and then turned to her husband, who had rolled onto his stomach and was quickly falling back asleep. She reached out and shook his shoulder much more gently than their daughter had. "Richard? Richard, awaken please," she insisted softly.

No response.

She tried again. "If you get up, I will give you your first gift from me," she murmured, leaning down and brushing a kiss against his cheek, then moving along to his jawbone.

He made a noise of acknowledgement but did not move.

His wife pouted, sat up, and crossed her arms. "Fine," she said, lifting off the bed and floating towards the door. "Perhaps I shall find someone else to bestow such a gift upon."

Dick shifted and blinked open his eyes. "Aw, Kory, come on," he called. After seconds of silence passed, he propped himself up on his elbow and tried to peer down the stretch of hallway he could see from the bed. "Kor?"

He listened hard and heard muted voices speaking in Tamaranian. He recognized the word for father, something about the two of them…?

There was a giggle and suddenly the two Tamaranians flew into the room again at top speed and dive-bombed the bed, causing Dick to fly four feet in the air with a yell of panic. He returned to the mattress with a loud thump, landing on his stomach between the two laughing girls. Silkie waddled in behind them, gurgling and attempting to climb into the bed also.

Waiting a few moments for his heartbeat to return to normal, Dick rolled over onto his back and looked from one set of jade eyes to the other.

"…okay, okay, I'll get up."

Mar'i grinned and fist-pumped. "Yes!" she exclaimed, shooting back out of the room.

Dick chuckled and watched her go, then turned his head to look at his wife. "Can I still get that present?" he asked, smiling that crooked half-smile she knew so well.

She looked down at him, fighting to suppress a smile and look stern. "Perhaps," she replied, turning away and moving to get off the bed.

"Star, wait." He had sat up and gently grabbed her forearm before she could leave, but it was his use of her old nickname that truly stopped her.

Kory looked around at him, surprised at the sudden seriousness in his voice.

He was looking steadily at her, the corners of his mouth turned up in an attempt at lightness that didn't quite reach his eyes. Instead, they held a somberness that was reminiscent of much earlier in their relationship, when he would berate himself after thoughtlessly doing or saying something that hurt her.

She recognized that look and immediately reached out a hand to touch his cheek affectionately before he could say anything else, a faint distressed crinkle appearing between her eyebrows as she smiled at him. "Richard, please, it is Christmas. I was merely joking; do not do the beating of yourself."

A flicker of real amusement tugged at his lips and the crinkle between Kory's eyebrows disappeared.

Dick ran his hand through his hair and blew out a sigh, flicking his eyes at the ground and then back up to meet hers; to her satisfaction, she saw the cloudiness in them clearing. "Sorry, Kor," he murmured, taking her hand and rubbing his thumb over the back of it. "I know it's been a while since we were teenagers, but I still don't want to make the same mistakes I did when I was younger."

Kory stared at him for a few moments, her green eyes moving minutely as they searched his blue ones. She surged forward suddenly and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him hard on the mouth. Dick's eyes widened momentarily before closing as he returned the kiss, moving one hand to cup her jaw and the other to rest on her thigh.

After about ten seconds Kory pulled away with some effort, Dick trailing after her in an attempt to make the kiss last. She giggled at the somewhat-groggy expression on his face, floating out of his reach as he tried to pull her back onto the bed.

"I have given you one of your gifts, now it is your turn to give me one," she chided.

"Alright," he replied, looking up at her mischievously. Before she had time to wonder what he was thinking, Dick had sprung up from the bed and enveloped her in a tight embrace; Kory, slightly surprised but pleased, put her arms around him and returned the hug. Turning his head into her neck, he began to press his lips against various parts of it.

Kory let out a contented sigh as her husband moved his attention to her bare shoulder (even though it was winter, she still didn't feel the need to wear anything warmer than a spaghetti-strap nightgown), but something was tugging at her foggy mind. There was something she had forgotten, something waiting on her…

"Eeeeewww!"

The loudly-voiced opinion caused the couple to start and turn their attention to the doorway where their daughter stood, making a face at the PDA she had accidentally walked in on.

"I've been waiting for like an _hour_," the little girl complained, throwing her arms out exasperatedly. "Can we _pleeeease_ open presents now?"

Kory quickly composed herself and took a step back from Dick, turning around to face Mar'i. "I apologize my little bumgorf; let us make haste to the tree!"

Mar'i grinned and ran back down the hallway; Kory watched her go and then turned back around to kiss Dick's cheek. "I enjoyed your gift very much," she told him with an impish smile.

"Oh, that wasn't all," he replied casually, walking over to pick up an exhausted Silkie "If you liked that, you're going to love tonight."

And with that he strolled out of the bedroom, leaving Kory suddenly feeling more impatient than Mar'i.

* * *

A/N:

So there is is. Mer. It's not my favorite I've done so far, I'm not completely satisfied with the latter half but I just wanted to finish it. I guess it was kind hard feeling out how Robin would be as a mature adult/dad; I saw him as being mellower and lighter like he is in the comics, but still having a little bit of that meticulous/serious Batman-esque streak in him since it was such a big character trait in the show. Idk I'm really tired and just wanna post this already so ya there you go! Thanks for reading!

Yaaa  
- Renee


	8. hair

A/N:

Yeah Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans! (I mean it's over now where I am but I'm not asleep yet so to me it's still the 4th)

My country is definitely by no means perfect, but it is my country and I love it, stupid politics and all. So I though I'd upload this since it's a holiday, instead of waiting til later since I'll be a bit busy tomorrow and possibly the days after.

Anyways, yeah. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: It's a free country but I still don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

Once Larry had rescued Robin from wherever he had been sent to with his healed arm, the Boy Wonder didn't really mind that it had also undone the healing of his fracture; he preferred being incapacitated in the right dimension to having use of both arms in who-knows-where any day. Unfortunately, Robin hadn't realized exactly how difficult some things would be with only one hand.

Like doing his hair, for example.

After waking up the day after Larry's visit, Robin's first morning with his cast had not gone very smoothly. Sleeping had been difficult as he had spent a good portion of the night trying to find a comfortable position that kept his weight off of his injured arm. Upon hearing his alarm go off, he'd swung his right arm over to shut it off, remembering a second too late that it had a cast on it and growling loudly in a combination of pain and anger as a result.

Scowling, the teenager rose from his bed and changed out of his pajamas slowly but without incident, though the small victory didn't do much to lift his mood. He made his way to the bathroom and managed to brush his teeth and wash his face one-handed, proceeding to pull out his container of hair gel.

He frowned at the small circular tub in his left hand, then unscrewed it with a determined expression. Scooping some of the goop into his hand, he rubbed his fingers against his palm to distribute it evenly and raised it near his hair. He hesitated, his hand wavering back and forth as he tried to decide on the best angle for his first move.

_tnk tnk_

"Robin? Are you there?"

"Yeah," he called over his shoulder, not looking away from the mirror. "Come on in, Starfire."

The metallic door swished open to reveal the pretty Tamaranian, looking slightly worried.

Robin paused in his calculations to raise an eyebrow at her in the mirror. "Everything ok?"

Starfire's eyes widened upon realizing her concern was showing and she hastily put on an unconvincing grin. "Yes! Everything is glorious!" she replied quickly. "I simply… wished to make sure you were the ok," she continued, the grin fading as she hugged her elbow and lowered her gaze to the tiled floor.

Robin's hand lowered. He knew Starfire was well aware of his tendency to push himself too hard and how it upset her. All the times she had come to check in on him after he'd shut himself away in his office rushed into his mind, followed by all the subsequent times he had shut her out. Guilt pricked at him.

He turned around to face her with a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Star. Thanks."

Starfire perked up and returned the smile, giving Robin the odd sensation that his heart had flopped over backwards.

"Do you require any assistance?" she asked, peering at the hair gel slowly dripping out of his hand.

He followed her gaze and then chuckled, bringing his hand up to look at it. He supposed he could accept help, just this once…

"Sure," he replied. "Would you mind helping me with this?" He picked up the container and offered it to her with a half-smile.

The redhead beamed. "Of course! One moment!"

The breeze she left behind ruffled Robin's hair as he stood staring at where she had just been, perplexed. A few seconds later she flew back into the bathroom with a stool from the kitchen and planted it in front of the mirror over the sink.

"Sit!" she told him.

Bemused, Robin did as she said. She floated behind him (close enough for him to detect the faint smell of her fruity shampoo) and began running her hands through his hair, which was currently lying flat against his head.

"Um… Star?" asked Robin, struggling a bit to maintain his composure despite his now-racing heart.

"Hm?" Starfire replied absently, raking her fingers backwards from his right temple. Robin stifled a sigh of contentment and fought to not melt in his seat.

"What are you doing?" he questioned, immediately regretting it when Starfire took her hands away.

"Does Earth boys' hair not require detangling?" she queried innocently, secretly disappointed Robin had asked, as she had been enjoying running her fingers through his hair and admiring how soft it was without gel in it.

"Oh, uh- yeah, it does," Robin stammered, trying not to trip over his words. "But usually we use a comb."

"Oh, my apologies," she said, smiling and picking up the hair gel and dipping her fingers into it.

Robin opened his mouth to instruct her, but Starfire seemed to know what she was doing. Raising her hands over his head, she moved slightly closer to him in order to reach around to the front of his hair. Her stomach brushed against his back and he felt his neck and ears grow hot.

Starfire seemed not to notice, busy spiking up his hair. She would run her fingers through his dark locks in short, quick strokes, raising them slightly at the end to separate and define the spikes.

This went on for about three minutes, Starfire humming as a small smile played on her lips. Robin watched her in the mirror, unconsciously smiling himself. She would pinch the spikes at the top, making sure they stayed pointed and together once she let go. Her lips were pursed slightly in concentration, though her movements were fluid and confident.

Finally, Starfire removed her hands from his head and beamed. "I am finished!"

Robin, who was still looking at Starfire's reflection affectionately, immediately straightened upright from his relaxed posture upon hearing her proclamation. He examined the finished product in the mirror, turning his head side to side to admire her handiwork.

"Great job, Star!" he said, impressed. Starfire looked extremely pleased with herself.

"I thank you," she replied happily, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind in a hug. "On my planet, the grooming of one another's hair is a special bonding activity between friends." The side of her face bumped against his and Robin felt the spot where her cheek brushed his burn.

Suddenly there was a muted clanging from outside the bathroom and the pair could hear the sounds of Cyborg and Beast Boy squabbling.

Starfire released Robin from her embrace and he hopped off of the stool, shoulders imperceptibly slumped. "I guess we should go get breakfast before they get too out of control," he sighed, picking up the stool to return it to its proper place.

"Agreed," she said, floating alongside him as they exited into the hallway. As they made their way down the hall, Robin touched his hair gingerly with the fingers poking out from his cast.

"I can't believe you did this without me saying anything," he continued in an awed voice.

Starfire suddenly looked slightly sheepish and blushed; she had no desire to tell him it was easy since she was fond of admiring his hair in her spare moments during training.

"How'd you do it?"

Her sheepish expression morphed into a guilty one. "Oh, I… um… What was that?" she asked quickly, cupping her hand to her ear.

Robin looked at her oddly. "I didn't- "

"You need help in the kitchen? I shall be right there, Raven!" she called loudly over him, flashing him an embarrassed smile before zipping down the hallway and out of sight, leaving a confused Robin in her wake.

A door opened down the hall and Raven poked her head out of her bedroom.

"Did Starfire say something?"

* * *

A/N:

I think doing stuff with hair is one of my favorite friendship activities; like touching/messing with people's hair is an intimate thing and it's nice that you like and trust this person enough to get in your personal space and touch your hair and make you look nice and they want to do a good job and make you look nice too. It's such a sweet activity. I love it when my friends do my hair, like I freaking love having my hair braided, and I love braiding/doing my friends' hair too. It's such a nice friendship thing to do, it's a shame boys miss out on it. It's the best.

Also on a Teen Titan-related note, here's this piece of fanart that I like that I was looking at while writing this, it's called Morning Routine by ramhay on deviantart and it's really cute. I recommend checking it out just cause it's cute.

So yeah, there is that. I'm really tired so not much else to say. Next up: serious feels.

USA USA ok night  
-Renee


	9. argument

A/N:

Sorry I haven't updated in a little while! It's mostly because I got some writer's block; this one's about arguing and since I really do not like arguing it was a little tough for me. The only people I actually fight with are my sister and once in an ice age my dad. I like to keep things light and not argue, but I also think that the strongest relationships are the ones where people fight and still manage to be friends afterwards. Like, Harry threw a button at Ron's forehead in Goblet of Fire and they still made up later and were best friends again.

Also, I didn't want anything to be cheesy or over-dramatic/out of character but I also wanted it to be emotional buuut I'm really sensitive to stuff being cheesy/over-dramatic (as in like I have a lower tolerance before I think something's too dramatic idk) and sometimes I feel a little uncomfortable around sappy romantic stuff/other emotions that aren't light and jokey but that's not a good attitude to have so I'm working on being cool with it all the time. I kinda bugged myself with all the ellipses since I tend to associate that with people being overly-dramatic, but hopefully it doesn't come off that way here.

Oh also! I listened to a lot of instrumental music to finally finish this, so if you wanna put on some chill instrumental music towards the end when things start to settle down (like calm choral stuff, I listened to The Promise of Living by Aaron Copeland) that could enhance your reading experience, just a suggestion. Whatever you choose, on with the story!

Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Titans. Bummer.

* * *

"Titans, GO!"

It had been a little over a month since Terra had made her sacrifice to save Jump City, and things were slowly returning to normal. The debris left behind from Slade's rule had been cleaned away, people had returned to their homes, and villains had come out of hiding. Citizens went back to their daily lives and so did the Titans.

Plasmus had finally resurfaced and was currently wreaking havoc in the middle of an intersection downtown. The traffic lights that were still attached to their cables were blinking yellow, not that it mattered; all the cars at the light sat abandoned by their drivers, waiting to be picked up and hurled at the teen heroes that were charging towards Plasmus.

The battle was off to a good start; Cyborg rode a charging rhinoceros Beast Boy towards the dripping criminal while Raven took to the sky with Starfire, who scooped up Robin as well. There was an explosion as an exploding disk and Cyborg's arm cannon simultaneously struck Plasmus, the team converging on him as the dust settled.

About ten minutes later, Plasmus had retreated to the top of a nearby parking garage, and it was obvious the Titans had him on the ropes. He staggered backwards from being hit by multiple barrels launched by Raven, flailing his arms around; Robin, who had leapt at him from behind in an attempt to wrap a grapple line around the monster, was caught squarely in the chest by Plasmus's large hand and sent flying backwards into the brick wall of the stairwell. He fell back down to the pavement, letting out a pained grunt as he hit the ground.

Meanwhile, Plasmus had turned around to see what he had swatted. The villain grinned upon spotting the crumpled form of the Boy Wonder on the sidewalk and picked up a nearby car.

Robin had just pushed himself onto his elbow with a groan, trying to recover from having the wind knocked out of him. Suddenly he heard Starfire's familiar battle cry and felt something catch the back of his uniform and throw him to the left, tumbling to a stop about ten feet away; as he hit the pavement, he heard Starfire cry out and the sound of crunching metal.

He looked up just in time to see a purple boot disappear over the edge of the parking level, the car meant for Robin missing its target as it flew in the now-wide space between him and the stairwell. The dizzy feeling in his head from rolling across the ground was replaced by lightheadedness as the bottom of his stomach dropped out; his pulse began to pound through his veins.

Panic was flooding through Robin as he stumbled onto his feet, giving his voice a ragged edge as he screamed her name. The rational leader in him that shouted to at least maintain his composure was completely overshadowed by the sixteen-year-old boy that was terrified for his best friend.

He was halfway to the edge when Raven swooped down from above, diving after Starfire. Robin resisted the urge to throw himself off the roof after her, knowing Raven had a better chance of catching Starfire than he did. Instead, he skidded to a halt and leaned over the concrete wall.

Four stories below, Starfire lay embedded in the top of a parked SUV. Raven had alighted right next to her head and was knelt over her, hands glowing blue as she laid them on her teammate. Robin gripped the concrete tightly; his view of Starfire's face was obscured by Raven's head bowed over it, but the rest of her that he could see wasn't moving. Behind him, Plasmus let out a screech as Beast Boy and Cyborg continued to battle the monster.

After a few agonizingly long moments, Raven turned her face upwards to Robin and called to him, "She's ok!" Starfire's eyes had cracked open and she looked disoriented but definitely alive.

It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over Robin; the wave of relief that swept through him made his legs momentarily feel like they might just give out. Raven waved a hand at him to go back to the battle and he nodded, sprinting back to where Beast Boy and Cyborg were continuing to hold the monster off.

The fight did not last long after that. Robin's relief had turned to anger, giving his fighting a dangerous edge that made the other two male Titans feel a bit uneasy. Their leader's self-control seemed to be hanging by a thread as he took his frustrations out on Plasmus; Beast Boy and Cyborg stopped to gape at (and stay a safe distance away from) him as he unleashed a barrage of furious punches and kicks that disoriented the villain long enough for Robin throw an bird-a-rang in his face which exploded, rendering Plasmus unconscious.

Beast Boy stared wide-eyed at Plasmus's now-human form, still a little shaken by Robin's sudden aggression. Deciding to handle the tension like he always did, the changeling looked up, attempted a grin, and cracked a joke.

"Wow Robin, remind me not to get on your-"

He paused midsentence upon seeing Robin's back, the Boy Wonder already halfway to the edge of the parking garage.

"Hey!" squawked Beast Boy. "Where are you going? What about Plasmus?" he cried indignantly.

"The police are on their way," Robin said curtly over his shoulder. Without another word, he rappelled off the side and hopped onto his nearby R-cycle.

As the motorcycle roared to life, Raven joined the boys from behind, a groggy Starfire's arm draped around her neck. The empath frowned as she watched Robin drive off, staggering slightly as her friend's weight suddenly shifted towards her; Starfire had slumped, her tired eyes trained on the fluttering black cape in the distance, stubby eyebrows knitted.

"What's up _his_ butt?" Beast Boy grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as the red motorcycle disappeared from view.

The police had shown up shortly afterwards, just as Robin had said. Once the Titans had made sure Plasmus was securely in custody, the remaining Titans returned to the tower.

They entered the common room with Beast Boy and Cyborg speculating about what was wrong with Robin, Raven acting disinterested but secretly interested as well, and Starfire still looking troubled. Noticing the alien's distress, Raven finally rounded on the two.

"Whatever Robin's problem is, you two speculating isn't going to do anything to fix it, so stop. It's bothering Starfire," she growled at them, her cloak rippling in a sudden, menacing wind.

Beast Boy eeped and shrank behind Cyborg, who held up his hands defensively.

"Hey, we just wanted to know what his problem-"

He was interrupted by the soft _swoosh_ of the doors across the room opening. They all immediately turned to look at it as Robin stepped through, stopping just beyond the threshold.

"Starfire, can we talk?" he asked shortly, not looking at the other Titans.

Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg all turned to look at Starfire in confusion. The Tamaranian looked quite bewildered herself, staring up at Robin with wide, innocent eyes.

"Um… ok," she replied uncertainly, throwing her teammates a perplexed look over her shoulder and lifting a few centimeters off the ground to float after Robin.

Robin said nothing as he led the way back down the hallway, but Starfire didn't need any words to guess where they were going. She was proved right when they stopped in front of Robin's office.

He punched in the code to open the doors and strode forward when they slid open. She followed reluctantly, holding her elbow.

Starfire had never liked this room much. It was like a monster, swallowing Robin for hours at a time and more often than not spitting him back out tired and/or frustrated. After he had escaped Slade's apprenticeship he had made a concentrated effort to spend less time holed up in it; this effort had been going well until Terra's betrayal, after which he had spent long hours trying to track the pair before they had finally resurfaced. Thankfully, afterwards he had not returned to shuting her out or spending unhealthy amounts of time in the office, but the room still dredged up feelings of unhappiness for Starfire.

Robin stopped in front of his desk, turning around and folding his arms as he fixed Starfire with a serious look. She stopped hovering and touched down on the floor, aware Robin was mad but completely at a loss for why.

"What you did today was unnecessarily reckless."

Her eyes widened as if he had struck her.

"What?" she asked, her tone of voice indicating that she could not believe she'd done any such thing.

"When you flew in front of that car today," he clarified for her.

Though she at least knew what action he was talking about, Starfire still couldn't see what was wrong with it. "Robin, I do not understand," she began, a pleading edge to her voice that wished for nothing more than _to_ understand. "I was merely trying to rescue you from being crushed-"

"Yeah, and you could've gotten hurt!" Robin interrupted, his emotionless façade crumbling slightly as he raised his voice.

Starfire frowned, not following his reasoning. "We all sustain injuries all the time, Robin. Why did you not scold Beast Boy for taking the hit for Cyborg when Dr. Light attempted to blast him off of a building last week?"

Suddenly Robin saw the glaring flaw in his argument and had a moment of internal panic. His mind reeled, searching quickly for a suitable rebuttal that didn't make it look like it he worried unnecessarily about only her.

"I-Well…" he blustered, buying time as his stoic demeanor faded with each second he thought. "Because Beast Boy was a T-Rex then! He was tough enough that the fall wouldn't have hurt him much."

Starfire stared at him for a second, and then her eyes narrowed. "Are you implying that I am weak?" she asked angrily, her body language doing a 180 as she straightened to her full height, practically crackling with electricity. "That I am not capable of sustaining such a fall?" Her voice was accusatory, eyes flashing neon green as she towered over him.

The rational part of his brain finally caught up with him and tapped him on the shoulder, reminding him too late that Starfire was from a warrior culture and he had probably just insulted her. He shrank backwards and bumped into his desk chair, faintly feeling the heat from her eyes on his face.

"What!? Star, no, that's not what I was trying to say-"

"I have had worse falls playing as a child in the gardens of Tamaran!" she continued to rant; Robin momentarily wondered exactly why kind of games children played on Tamaran. Unsure if she had not heard him or simply ignored him, he decided to try again.

"Starfire, listen to me!" he said loudly. This interruption seemed to stun her into silence; Robin seized upon it before she could begin again.

"Look," the teenager sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I don't think you're weak, at all," he said honestly, stressing the last part.

This seemed to calm her somewhat; at the least, the glow in her eyes died away, revealing her normal emerald eyes still filled with suspicion. She crossed her arms and regarded him skeptically.

"Than what did you mean?" she asked him, pinning him to his spot with her glare.

"Uh…" Robin began to sweat.

Starfire put her hands on her hips. "If you do not think I am weak, why are you upset?" she asked again, raising a ginger eyebrow.

"I- I didn't say I was _upset_-" he tried sheepishly, but Starfire was having none of it.

"Robin, you wished to comment on my battle performance. Obviously something displeased you, though I do not understand it, so please: what is the problem?" she pressed.

"Er… Actually, now that I think about it, there was no problem," Robin said hastily, trying to escape the conversation.

"So you left the battle abruptly and were cold to all of us, but you are not angry?" she asked skeptically. Her eyes did not deviate from his face; he squirmed uncomfortably underneath her gaze.

"No! I mean, yeah, but-"

"Robin, tell me what is wrong-"

"Nothing's wrong! I told you-"

"You are being untruthful-"

"Starfire-"

"Robin-"

"IT'S BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU, ALRIGHT!" Robin finally shouted, unable to take the arguing anymore.

Starfire shut up at once, staring wide-eyed at him. Her anger died immediately, posture relaxing as she dropped her arms to her sides.

"Um… what?" she finally asked meekly, returning her hand to her elbow and meeting his eyes shyly.

Robin, whose own eyes had also grown to the size of saucers once he realized what he'd just said, stared back at her and briefly considered creating a distraction so he could run from the room.

"I mean, I care about all of you guys," he backpedaled quickly, "and, uh… um…"

He tugged at his collar, looking anywhere but those big green eyes. His heart was pounding; why did he say that!?

Well, he knew why he had said it; it was true. Rather, why had he said it _out loud_?

After Robin continued to hem and haw for a few moments longer, Starfire dropped her gaze to the ground, a familiar expression of quiet disappointment on her face. "It is alright Robin, you do not have to explain."

She turned to leave and he watched her, guilt stabbing him sharply in the heart. As averse as he was to talking about his feelings (especially regarding her), he was much more opposed to hurting her feelings by letting her go. Unable to stop himself, he called, "Starfire, wait."

Starfire turned around quickly, hope shimmering in her eyes.

With a resigned sigh, the Boy Wonder crossed his arms and slumped back against his desk, looking at the floor. "Do you… d'you remember last month, when you got knocked off that cliff?" he began gruffly, continuing to resolutely study the ground.

"Yes," she replied, eyes now fixed on his face with a very different sort of intensity than she'd had a minute ago.

"When you fell…"

Robin hesitated for a moment and knit his eyebrows together as the memory flashed through his mind: the hard shove, Starfire's cry of pain, darting across the gravel to make a vain grab for the falling girl, the sick feeling of terror as his hand closed on thin air and Starfire's body plummeted into the ocean below.

"And I couldn't catch you… It scared me, Starfire," he confessed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as he continued to stare at the floor, frowning. "I thought that maybe you'd, y'know…"

Confusion tainted Starfire's intent gaze and she cocked her head slightly, not quite getting Robin's meaning. She could tell he had lifted his eyes by the way his head tilted somberly upwards, feeling the familiar prickle down her spine that meant he had met her gaze, and suddenly she understood his meaning.

"Oh," she said, empathy filling her eyes as she took a step towards him, reaching out a hand. "Robin…"

He held up his hand. "No, look; I'm really sorry, Star." His voice had taken on the soft, gentle edge it always did in the rare moments when he was honest with her about how he felt, like that sunny dawn when he had once told her that no one could take her place. Starfire stayed silent and lowered her hand, clasping both in front of her and waiting for him to finish.

"I shouldn't have gotten mad at you like that. I know you can take a hit, I just…" The Boy Wonder let out a short noise of frustration, searching for the right words to explain feelings he didn't even completely understand. "When I saw you go over the side again, it felt like the cliff was happening all over again and I… I lost control. It was a stupid mistake, and I promise it won't happen again," he told her, looking away to scowl at the wall and balling his fist up at his side.

Starfire's eyebrows curved inward, saddened her to hear her best friend angry with himself. She moved forward and gently took his clenched hand in hers, holding it up between them. At her touch, his fingers relaxed slightly.

"Robin, you say you are scared when you see me get hit, but can you imagine how I feel when I see you in danger?" she asked him softly. "Earthlings are not known for their ability to withstand large objects being dropped upon them."

To her satisfaction, she saw the corners of his lips twitch upwards momentarily, though he did not look away from the various newspaper clippings papering the walls. She continued.

"I know you are a very brave and capable hero, but I still feel fear when I see you damaged," Starfire admitted. "You are my best friend, Robin, and I do not wish to see anything happen to you. However, I also understand that, as heroes, we are always in danger, and we cannot allow the fear of losing one another to cloud our minds and restrict their actions."

Robin turned his head to face her, wanting to tell her that he was impressed by her wisdom, that he wouldn't ever try to restrict her actions again, that she was his best friend too. "Starfire, I-"

The words died on his lips when he saw she was much nearer than he'd thought. Had she been this close a minute ago?

Wait, was she getting closer?

His heart began to race. Was she going to kiss him? Why did he just think that? Would it be good?

All the questions that raced through his mind suddenly became unnecessary as she turned her head slightly to the right and put her arms around him in a hug; not an over-enthusiastic back-breaking one, but a gentle, warm embrace that conveyed her understanding more than words ever could.

Mostly relieved, Robin put his arms around her after a moment and returned it, resting his head on her shoulder.

"So… does this mean you forgive me?" he asked hesitantly.

Eyes closed, Starfire smiled contentedly and nodded, humming her affirmative. A small smile appeared on Robin's face as well.

"Thanks, Star."

The pair stood in silence together, both wordlessly understanding that the embrace meant more than just a simple hug; it was forgivness, and an affirmation of their continued friendship.

Once they had reluctantly parted and Starfire had led him back out to return to their friends, Robin watched her cheerfully reassure them that everything was "the a-ok" (he added in his own short apology to them, though not revealing his reasons as he had done with Starfire), admiring the way she smiled and giggled as a puppy Beast Boy wriggled in her lap while Raven rolled her eyes. Who could've guessed that only ten minutes ago the laughing girl who was now gently playing with the puppy's green paws had made Robin legitimately worried he was about to be blasted by starbolts?

As he continued to reflect on the emotional range of his best friend with a bemused smile, he felt something else rising up in him. It was warm in his chest, a different kind of warmth than he felt for the other Titans; it made him want to walk up behind her and wrap his arms around her and nuzzle her neck and-

Oh. Oh no.

Suddenly Robin realized exactly why the thought of losing Starfire hit him in a way that nothing else did. She turned her eyes on him and his heart began to race again. The grin on her face faded away quickly.

"Robin, is something wrong? You look as though you have seen a zontorf!"

Robin started and waved his hands in front of him rapidly. "No no, I'm fine!" he replied quickly, smiling in what he hoped was a convincing manner.

Starfire continued to stare at him with concern, but was distracted a moment later by Beast Boy whining and nudging at Starfire's hand for her to continue petting him.

Saved from further interrogation, Robin continued to watch her, lapsing back into his musings.

Just as she never wanted any harm to come to him, he never wanted to lose her. He couldn't (and wouldn't) keep her from throwing herself in front of cars for him, but he could do his best to stay out of a situation where that would be necessary. A voice in the back of his head asked him if that was really a realistic solution.

He was pulled out of his thoughts momentarily as Starfire lapsed into giggles again at something Beast Boy did. The warm feeling in his chest grew slightly.

Realistic solution or not, he was determined to not let that happen.

* * *

A/N:

So there's that! I really wanted to finish this, so boom. There it is. Onto the next one!

Like I said, I don't like fighting, but when I was in high school there was this guy, right? He was my guy best friend, and we also had sort of had a thing, so sometimes I had problems with stuff he'd do that would unintentionally hurt my feelings. One day I was stupid and decided to be purposefully rude to him because I was really upset by something he'd done (I don't remember what now) and I regretted it almost instantly after I did it, but it was too late to fix it. We hardly ever fought, this was like one of the two or max three fights we ever had, if you could even call it that; there were definitely bad feelings though. I don't remember if we talked about it (knowing me we probably did and I probably apologized) but what I DO remember (and the reason I'm telling this story) is that the next day I was nervous to see him because I was worried he'd be mad at me still or ignore me and I didn't know what to do. So me and my friend (who had no idea about any of this) eventually ended up going over to him and the other people around him and then he held out his arm for a hug without saying anything about the day before and we hugged, and to me it felt like we had a moment just between us in the midst of others where we were saying we were ok again and I didn't worry anymore after that. That's the feeling I was trying to convey with the Starfire/Robin hug, so yeah just some fun backstory if you like that sort of thing. (Unlike Starfire and Robin, we ended up not being meant for each other and that's actually really ok. Side lesson: when you have problems with someone you care about, things go much better when you use actual words to express that's you're upset. However, also take note of whether the person actually tries to fix the problem or not; if they listen but don't do anything you should probably reevaluate your relationship. Protip.)

If you read all that, cool! If not, also cool (though you missed out on a side lesson)! Hopefully I'll get back into the groove now that this is done and I can start something new, so hopefully post again soon!  
-Renee


	10. injured

A/N:

Don't think this took as long as last time. While I think flustered Robin is as adorable as much as the next girl, I liked the idea of Starfire being flustered for once. I was rewatching season one a couple days ago and liked the vibe of the two, where they're just really close best friends and Robin's all nice and cares about her without being all awkward about it cause he either doesn't have a total crush on her yet or realize he has a crush on her, but Starfire seems to show him attention that's a little more than just her natural caring self. That's just my take on it.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own a few Sharpies, but not the actual trademarked company thing or Teen Titans.

* * *

It was a dark and stormy night in Jump City, so of course something bad had happened.

"Aaaaahhhh!"

Beast Boy's wail of pain echoed through the Tower as he limped into into the common room, supported by a distressed Cyborg.

The taller boy winced slightly at the volume of his best friend's shout but gave him no flack for it this time; Beast Boy had earned the right to some sympathy.

The Teen Titans had just finished a particularly difficult battle with an escaped creature from S.T.A.R. Labs. During the fight, the large, bear-like monster had managed to grab Robin in its razor-sharp claws; Beast Boy had rammed into it as an elephant, causing it to release his leader as it fell over. The Boy Wonder had fallen unceremoniously to the ground, groaning and clutching at the slashes its claws had left in his Kevlar shirt.

Unfortunately, the rain had created large puddles of mud in the forest where they were fighting and Beast Boy slipped, causing him to slide and fall himself. The monster landed awkwardly where Beast Boy's legs lay sprawled, and the odd angle of impact combined with the sheer weight of it had broken Beast Boy's left leg.

Fortunately for the green teen, the remaining three uninjured Titans had quickly apprehended the now-prone bear-thing and, as heavy rain combined with thunder and lightning weren't ideal conditions for healing, Raven had done her best to take the edge off the pain so Beast Boy could at least transform back into his human form, to be transported back to the Tower as quickly as possible for proper medical attention. Cyborg helped her quickly fashion a splint from nearby branches while Starfire helped Robin into the T-Car.

So that was why, as Beast Boy continued to make various groaning and whining noises all the way up to the medical bay, Raven did not roll her eyes once; on the contrary, her eyebrows were furrowed and she was so caught up in figuring the extent to which she could heal Beast Boy that she had forgotten Starfire and Robin were right behind them her she almost closed the med bay doors on them.

"Sorry," she apologized as the two crossed the threshold, Starfire's arm around Robin's waist and his arm across her shoulders.

"It's alright. We're all worried about him too," Robin replied. She gave him a tiny smile of thanks before her gaze dipped to his chest.

"Those cuts don't look too good," she observed, eyeing the four long rips on the right side of his chest; there was a slash through the back of his cape and she had a feeling there was a fifth one on his back.

Raven looked at Starfire as Robin glanced down at his shredded tunic. "You know how to dress a wound, right?" she asked, not waiting for an answer before turning and walking swiftly into the next room, leaving behind a bewildered Starfire.

Robin looked at the Tamaranian in surprise. "Is that true, Star?"

She blinked, still looking at the spot where Raven had just been and wondering if she had just imagined a smirk flash across her friend's face. "Yes, on Tamaran we are taught at a young age how to take care of injuries sustained in battle." She turned to look at him inquisitively. "Are Earth children not taught this as well?"

"Uh… not exactly," Robin replied with a slight chuckle. "Would you mind…?" he asked, limping over to the examination table in the middle of the room.

Starfire smiled. "I would be happy to," she said as she followed him. Concern tugged the corners of his lips downward upon seeing him grimace as he hopped onto the table.

"The supplies should be in that cabinet," he told her, pointing at the one directly across him on the wall.

Starfire nodded and turned her back to him, opening the cabinet and rummaging through it for the necessary items. Behind her, she heard the sound of rustling fabric as she searched for an antibiotic ointment.

"Thanks for doing this, Starfire" said Robin as she placed a roll of medical tape and a pack of gauze pads onto a metal tray and turned around, smiling and shutting her eyes happily for a moment.

"I welcome you!" she said cheerfully, opening her eyes and suddenly gripping the tray tighter.

Apparently Robin had taken the initiative and removed his cape, shirt, and gloves, leaving him sitting nonchalantly in only his pants and boots, elbows on his knees as he waited. He perked up into a proper sitting position upon seeing the tray in Starfire's hands.

She had seen Robin without his shirt on a few times before; when they had gone to the beach, or during a few particularly grueling or hot training sessions, but somehow this time seemed different; perhaps because of the more intimate setting, or the sheer unexpectedness of being greeted by the sight of her bare-chested leader.

"Starfire, are you ok?" he asked quizzically, raising an eyebrow. Suddenly his expression morphed into one of slight alarm and he glanced down at his chest, trying to get a good look at the scratches. "Is it that bad?" he asked worriedly, looking back up at her.

Feeling her face grow hot, Starfire snapped out of it and set the tray down next to him, hoping the indents she'd left in it weren't noticeable. "Oh, um, no, everything is fine!" she squeaked quickly, attempting to compose herself. Such sights were common on Tamaran, she chided herself; why should this be any different?

But Starfire knew exactly why, and unlike humans were wont to do, she had not resisted the recent realization that her feelings for Robin were more than platonic. However, she valued Robin's friendship highly and, doubting he had the same sort of feelings for her, was happy simply being his best friend. Most of the time this wasn't too terribly hard to do, but this unusual situation seemed to be challenging that.

Putting on what she hoped was a normal expression, she picked up the bottle of rubbing alcohol and a gauze pad. Applying the liquid to the pad, she bit her lip and looked at Robin. "I apologize if this stings."

"I'm used to it," he sighed, shrugging.

Starfire exhaled softly and steeled herself, moving in front of Robin and floating a few inches above the ground to reach the proper height to attend to his cuts. He shifted his legs so she could hover in between them to reach his chest; if he was feeling any sort of embarrassment, he was hiding it extremely well behind his calm expression.

She pressed the soaked pad to the beginning of the top cut on his right pectoral; the cuts were long, but luckily not very deep, as the Kevlar in his shirt had stopped most of the damage. Robin let out a soft hiss of pain and she flashed him an apologetic look, moving the pad gently along the red line across his chest.

She knew he was in pain and this was no time for shallow observations, but she couldn't help but notice how firm his chest felt underneath her fingers. It had been a few months since they had been to the beach, now that she'd thought about it, and Robin seemed more muscular than the scrawny boy she remembered.

This hunch was confirmed when she finally moved onto cleaning the fourth cut, which ended just above his well-defined abs. Blushing, she did her best not to admire them too much and quashed the faint desire to touch them.

Starfire breathed an inward sigh of relief once she finished disinfecting his front. Surely it would be less awkward to deal with the cut on his back?

Only slightly, she found.

The back of his torso was not nearly as distracting as the front, but it was still something to be admired; scars, bruises, and all. She had floated around to the other side of the table, and when he'd scooted forward to give her space to sit cross-legged behind him, the muscles in his back flexed, momentarily giving her flustered pause.

Starfire blinked quickly and forced herself to focus on her task, hoping Robin hadn't noticed her hesitation. She began dabbing the final cut, which began a little above his left hip and ran diagonally across his back to end just under his right shoulder blade.

This cut was a bit deeper, and when Starfire pulled away a pad from the wound it was stained light red. She frowned unhappily, a distressed crinkle appearing between her eyebrows as she continued along the cut.

Robin let out a soft grunt of pain and she just knew from the sound that he was gritting his teeth. His right hand gripped the table edge tightly to distract from the sting of the alcohol.

The alien put her hand on his shoulder, trying to relax him, or at the least comfort him.

That was a mistake.

Feeling his shoulder muscle relax a bit at her touch, she allowed her own hand to relax as well. It slid to the rounded part of his shoulder, where she absentmindedly noted how smooth and soft his skin was. Her hand relaxed further as she worked her way up his back with the pads, slipping gently to rest on his bicep.

She was nearly finished cleaning his cut, but the flexed muscle underneath her hand tugged at her concentration. The bicep was impressively solid, reflecting the discipline and hard work it had taken to build it. Unconsciously, Starfire's thumb lightly stroked the back of his arm; just one brush back and forth.

At this, Robin's arm suddenly relaxed and his head perked up, attempting to look at her over his shoulder. "Uh, Starfire? Everything ok back there?"

Starfire immediately came back to reality and flushed, snapping her hand away. "Yes!" she replied quickly, a bit too cheerfully. "All I must do now is apply the bandages," she told him, cutting off any response he had been planning to make and grabbing the roll of medical tape to his left.

She placed a clean pad on the length of the cut on his back and taped it carefully to his skin. Scooting off of the table and floating back around to his front, she repeated the action three more times on the front of his chest.

Halfway through the final dressing, a loud yelp cut through the silence of the medical bay, startling Starfire into jamming her thumb, which had been smoothing down the tape, against the cut. Robin let out his own cry of pain and Starfire's hands flew up to her mouth, guilt flooding into her eyes.

There was a commotion in the next room, momentarily distracting the pair. Raven's muted voice could be heard speaking sharply, and then things were quiet again.

Starfire returned her attention to Robin, looking extremely apologetic. "Robin, I am so sorry," she said sincerely, but he waved his hand to stop her there.

"Don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault," he reassured her. "But we should probably finish up before Beast Boy yells again," he suggested wryly, a half-smile tugging at his mouth.

Starfire giggled and nodded, grabbing gauze to wrap around his chest to make sure the pads stayed in place. "Life your arms, please," she asked, and Robin did so obediently.

Holding the beginning of the roll firmly against the side of his torso, Starfire began to bind it around him. The inside of her left arm brushed against his side as she reached behind him to bring it around; combined with their close proximity, tingles were sent scattering throughout her entire body. She kept a calm face and continued to work, ignoring the familiar, comforting smell of shampoo and deodorant that attacked her senses when she leaned too close to his body.

Once the bandages reached the top of his chest, Starfire tore the strip and carefully melted the end to the rest of the bandages with a weak starbolt, ensuring they would not come loose. She backed away and Robin examined her handiwork.

"Great job, Star!" he exclaimed, obviously impressed as he looked up and smiled at her. "Thanks a lot."

She returned the smile, glowing with pleasure. She was just about to reply when Beast Boy shouted from the next room.

"DUDES!"

Robin and Starfire immediately looked at each other in alarm, then simultaneously bolted over to the door. Throwing it open, the pair came to a frantic halt, both looking around for the source of the problem.

"What's the matter?" Robin asked quickly, relaxing after a moment and frowning at Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven, who all appeared fine and were staring at him oddly.

"I just wanted to ask you guys if you wanted to sign my cast," said Beast Boy slowly, looking at Robin with one eyebrow raised. He pointed to the fresh cast on his leg.

Starfire let out an excited squeal and clapped happily, jumping up and down while Robin stood there lamely. "I wish to sign!" she said, zooming over to where Beast Boy sat on the padded exam table.

"Just a sec, little lady, I gotta finish mine," Cyborg told her, leaning down to continue his scribbling.

Beast Boy grinned and took a look at what Cyborg had written so far. "'Beast Boy is a far… Cy, what's that word going to be?" he asked, squinting distrustfully at the half-robot.

His best friend smiled sheepishly and turned the 'r' into an 'n,' completing the sentence with, 'a fantastic friend.' He quickly handed the Sharpie to Starfire, who began writing her own well-wishes. After watching her for a moment, he turned to Robin and lifted his eyebrow at him.

"Where's your shirt, dude?" he asked, smirking suddenly as Robin looked down at his chest, apparently just remembering he wasn't wearing a shirt. "What've ya'll been up to out there?"

Robin frowned as he looked up. "Starfire was helping me take care of those cuts," he told him, scowling as Cyborg exchanged a look with Beast Boy and the two grinned at him.

Meanwhile, Raven moved closer to Starfire, craning her neck to see what she was writing. 'Get well soon,' followed by a chain of strange symbols.

"What does that mean?" she asked her friend, and Starfire paused to look over her shoulder at her.

"It is a Tamaranian proverb that is commonly said to one who is injured; it translates to, 'May you mend as quickly as a solorth and avenge yourself tenfold on your enemies,'" she explained with a smile, oblivious to Raven blinking at her in surprise.

"Uh… cool," Raven replied. A second later her expression shifted subtly to one of what would be called slyness on anyone else. "So, how did it go with Robin?"

A red tint appeared underneath Starfire's orange skin and her hand hesitated. "I do not know to what you are referring," she replied primly, suddenly very interested in making sure her handwriting so far was neat.

Raven smirked for sure this time. "I was talking about his injuries. What did you think I meant?"

"Oh!" Starfire said, relieved, only to look around at her suspiciously. "Raven, are you doing the hiding of something?"

Raven looked back at her innocently. "What? I don't know anything," she said calmly. "But… if someone ever wanted to tell me something…" she began, fighting a smile at Starfire's sudden look of excitement. "…I guess I could stand having a girl's night."

The grin broke across Starfire's face like a sunrise. Resisting the urge to loudly proclaim her satisfaction, she returned to her writing.

"Raven?" she said quietly a moment later.

"Yes?"

Starfire looked from Robin to Raven, a twinkle in her eyes.

"It went well."

* * *

A/N:

Cyborg was going to write fart-eater (it's my favorite thing to call my sister). It's pretty much the funniest thing to call someone ever.

Later fart-eaters!

_(jk you guys are great thanks for reading and reviewing and stuff you don't eat farts)_


	11. spin the bottle

A/N:

Posting at a normal time of day whaaat?

So this ended up a lot longer than I intended. I meant to do a few short vignettes and put them together in this chapter, but I was like "hey why not experiment with POV" and then I had watched Car Trouble a couple days ago and was like "hey why not Cyborg" and then the setting was a party and I love writing big events with a bunch of characters interacting (such as a party) so then I was just like "hey why not" and this happened.

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or anything else mentioned that is also not mine as well. Spin the Bottle is public domain I'm guessing so no problems there.

* * *

For Cyborg's twentieth birthday, he decided to opt for a large party instead of the usual smaller, low-key celebration the five Titans usually had when someone's birthday rolled around. Robin had acquiesced to this request, but even if he hadn't Cyborg probably would've gone ahead with it anyways. The no-longer-teen Titan was determined to celebrate the beginning of a new decade in a manner befitting the era of life he was about to enter.

Which made it slightly odd that at one point in the night a group of party-goers could be found playing the undeniably teenage game of Spin the Bottle.

It hadn't started on purpose, of course. Cyborg had been chatting with the only non-superhero at the party, a pretty, petite blonde he'd met recently named Sarah Simms, and the subject of party games had come up. They were joking around and reminiscing about the games they used to play at parties in high school, but somehow Kid Flash had picked exactly the right moment to walk by and catch the words "spin the bottle." One look at the empty soda bottle in the birthday boy's hand and his reaction was all but inevitable.

"All right!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist and grinning. "This party is finally gonna get started!"

"Um, excuse me?" Cyborg asked, bewildered. "Do you not hear the music and see people dancing?" He gestured towards the gyrating group of Titans clustered in the middle of the Ops room, where the party was being held, but Kid Flash simply waved his hand at him.

"You can dance any time! But it's not every day that you get a chance to make out with your friends," he said with an air of wisdom that was lost on the other two.

"I don't think I'm missing out on much," Cyborg replied dryly. Then he frowned and squinted at Kid Flash. "Wait, aren't you with Jinx?" he asked, partially in an attempt to make the other boy forget about the game and partially because he really was confused.

For a moment Kid Flash no longer looked like the lighthearted jokester who had been dancing enthusiastically with anyone he could get his hands on (Robin included) only fifteen minutes ago. The sage expression on his face faded and he looked almost pained, eyebrows furrowing and his mouth devoid of any kind of smile. But this lasted no more than two seconds; Kid Flash seemed to come to himself quickly and appeared unconcerned once again, though it seemed a bit forced now.

"We're on a break," he said, a little too nonchalantly. "So about that game; I'll go round up some people, it'll be fun!"

Cyborg had no chance to offer a rebuttal as the speedster grabbed his bottle and zipped away to recruit players; thirty seconds later a small group had started to gather where Cyborg and Sarah still stood in the kitchen.

Unsurprisingly, Beast Boy had showed up almost as soon as he had heard, dragging Raven with him; she looked annoyed but did not leave. Aqualad had been similarly hauled over by Speedy. An excited Argent came as well, bringing along a giggly, blushing Kole followed by a bashful Jericho. Starfire showed up, excited as well, though for different reasons as she wasn't quite sure what the game was or how it was played; unable to dissuade her from playing, Robin had reluctantly followed, most likely to glower at anyone whose spin landed on his girlfriend.

Satisfied with the assembled group, Kid Flash plopped down in the middle of the kitchen and stared up at everyone expectantly. The rest of the group exchanged glances with each other before sitting down hesitantly, forming a circle in the middle of the floor.

"Ok, ground rules: the kiss has to be at least three seconds but no longer than eight, no groping, no powers when you spin, and remember, have fun out there, kids," he finished with a grin, met by only about four excited faces. Starfire had turned to murmur something, mostly likely her reaction to finally understanding what was about to happen, to Robin, who was sitting to her right; he replied to her quietly, and she shook her head before turning to face the rest of the circle again, a calm smile on her face. Robin looked at her, eyebrows raised in slight surprise, before leaning back on his hands resignedly.

"Since it's Cy's birthday, it's only fair that he goes first," Kid Flash said, handing the bottle to an unenthusiastic Cyborg.

"Gee, thanks," he mumbled, still annoyed his conversation with Sarah had been interrupted. His eyes flicked to across to the circle to where she sat, somehow having been separated in the process of making room for the others. She gave him a tiny smile, and he suddenly felt a little better about the game; maybe he could get something good out of this after all…

Leaning forward and placing the bottle into the middle of the circle, Cyborg gave it a spin, his heart rate inversely proportional to the speed of the bottle as it slowed, finally coming to a halt and pointing at Argent.

He tried not to look disappointed as Argent scooted across the circle and pressed her lips to his, glad that at least it hadn't been Raven or Starfire. It was a chaste kiss, and as soon as he had counted three Gotham Citys in his head he pulled away, sneaking a peak at Sarah again, who was studying the ground.

Argent spun and landed on Speedy, who gave her a more obliging kiss and used up all of their allotted time.

Starfire suddenly looked confused and whispered something to Robin again; Robin's eyebrows flew up again and he whispered back, gesturing with his hand as he explained something to her. The pair looked back at the middle of the circle just as Speedy's spin landed on Starfire.

Starfire stared apprehensively at the bottle and then at Speedy, unaware of the warning glare Robin was sending him that was eerily reminiscent of his mentor. Speedy, thinking quickly and obviously valuing his health over a silly game, scooted over to Starfire and gave her a lingering kiss on the cheek, fulfilling the three-second rule. Robin crossed his arms but said nothing, seeming to prefer this solution to an actual kiss the way one might prefer losing a finger to losing a whole hand.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" protested Kid Flash as Speedy returned to his seat. "That's doesn't count!"

"Nowhere in your rules did it mandate that the kissing must always be lip contact," Starfire pointed out, flashing Speedy a grateful look.

Kid Flash furrowed his brow and looked from Starfire to Speedy to Robin before smacking himself in the forehead. "Oh, right! You guys are dating! My bad," he apologized, ignoring Robin's confused look upon hearing that someone could forget an over two-year relationship. "Any other couples we should know about?"

Kole and Jericho looked at each and blushed, and Kid Flash nodded. "I'll take that as a yes. Ok, new rule! If one of the people involved is in a relationship or not attracted to the gender of the spinner-slash-spinee, a kiss on the cheek is acceptable. Otherwise, it has to be lips to lips."

Everyone nodded, and Starfire took her turn, landing on Kole. She smiled, turned to her left, and pressed her lips to the smaller girl's cheek. Kole spun afterwards, obviously disappointed that it didn't land on Jericho, but after one glance into Aqualad's eyes she grinned and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him eagerly, much to everyone's surprise.

Cyborg turned to look for Jericho's reaction, but the slight boy had disappeared from his seat between Argent and Speedy. Kid Flash had seemed to realize what was going on as well and got to his knees, pushing the couple apart. Sure enough, when Aqualad looked up at him in surprise, his normally black eyes were the same shade as Jericho's.

"Get out of there!" Kid Flash demanded, and the sheepish smile on Aqualad's face melted into a dazed look of confusion as Jericho dispossessed him and returned to his seat. The blonde gave him an apologetic look and moved his fist in a clockwise motion over his chest. Aqualad lad gave him a nod of acknowledgement, though he didn't appear to be completely all-there yet.

Kid Flash sat back in his spot as well, huffy. "Didn't I say no powers?"

"Technically, you said no powers while spinning," Robin pointed out, grinning as his friend rolled his eyes.

"I assumed no powers while playing was implied! Geeze, for a bunch of superheroes, you guys are really good at finding loopholes," he muttered, but fell silent as Aqualad spun the bottle.

It landed on Raven, and to everyone's unspoken surprise she not only allowed him to kiss her but didn't pull away after the minimum three seconds had passed. When they did part, she settled back in her seat, apparently unperturbed; to her right, Beast Boy crossed his arms, fang poking between his lips as he frowned.

The bottle clinked against the tile floor once more and pointed at Kid Flash, who blinked at her, momentarily surprised by this turnout. He recovered after a second and shrugging, giving her his trademark crooked smile.

"Looks like it's your lucky day," he said as he moved over to where she sat.

She raised her eyebrows at him and smirked in a way that suggested she knew something he didn't. "I'd say it's yours," she countered, kissing his cheek before he could form a rebuttal.

He frowned at her as she pulled away. "Whattaya mean mine?" he asked suspiciously, any irritation at her violation of the rules eclipsed by his curiosity.

Raven's expression had returned to its usual neutral state. "Let's just say you might have miscounted the couples."

He gave her a last puzzled look before spinning the bottle and landing on Argent. Somehow, though, when he went to kiss her his knee buckled, throwing him off-balance so that he ended up planting a somewhat-sloppy kiss on Argent's chin instead. When he regained his balance, he spotted a flash on pink hair disappearing back into the dancing crowd behind the circle of players.

His face suddenly sobered and he stared a few moments more before getting to his feet. "Uh, I gotta go… do something," he mumbled distractedly, uncharacteristically serious as he jogged into the crowd as well.

Argent looked slightly relieved and spun, getting Beast Boy. They shared an awkward three seconds mouth-to-mouth, and then Beast Boy spun, landing on Raven.

He made a poor attempt to hide his excited look, while Raven stared at the bottle for a second before quickly rearranging her face into an indifferent expression that would've fooled anyone who had not seen the wide-eyed look of surprise seconds before it.

The green imp turned to his left and grinned at her. She rolled her eyes and looked away, though there was a pink tint to her gray skin.

"You ready for this, Rae?" Beast Boy teased, and she sighed.

"Whatever," she said disinterestedly, and as she was still narrowing her eyes at the empty space between Cyborg and Kole where Kid Flash had been, she missed the glint in Beast Boy's eyes that would've prepared her better for when he suddenly pressed his lips firmly to hers.

Her eyes widened and a long crack appeared in the bottle, and then her eyes slipped closed as she relaxed. Beast Boy was kissing her in a way that seemed like he was attempting to prove he was a better kisser than Aqualad, his movements gentle and somewhat-fluid with just a hint of animalistic edge.

Cyborg smirked as he looked at the back of Beast Boy's head; he knew the younger boy had been consciously nursing a full-fledged crush on the empath for the past couple of months now, and the tension between the two was almost as bad as Robin and Starfire pre-Tokyo.

The eight seconds finally were up and Cyborg grabbed the back of his friend's uniform, pulling him away from Raven. "Alright, B; let the girl breathe," he joked, inwardly amused at the flustered expression on Raven's face before she quickly wiped it away and took the glass bottle in her hand.

Quickly repairing the crack with a tendril of black energy, she spun the bottle and didn't react as it landed on Robin. Floating over, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and returned to her seat, face once again blank; Cyborg wasn't sure if she was preoccupied or just bored.

Robin reached over and took the bottle, looking at it and seeming to weigh it in his hand, giving it a few experimental twists.

"Come on dude, just spin it already!" Beast Boy finally exclaimed.

The Teen Wonder didn't reply and put the bottle on the ground, hesitating one moment more before spinning. And lo and behold, when it finally came to a stop, it was pointing at Starfire.

"Gee, what a surprise," Speedy commented sarcastically. Robin just gave him a smug look before turning to his smiling girlfriend.

The group watched as he gave her a small smile in return, followed by an affectionate kiss, having loosened up considerably since the start of their relationship and no longer caring if their teammates saw them kiss. Starfire shifted so that her torso to faced him, returning the kiss happily.

Half their time had passed and they continued contentedly, not that anyone really expected anything different. Robin brought his hand up to cup the back of Starfire's head and the two began to kiss a bit harder; used to seeing this sort of thing by now, Beast Boy made a face and looked away.

"Ok ya'll, time's up, time to separate," Cyborg told them. He'd had a feeling that if anyone was going to go over the time limit, it would be them.

Neither Starfire nor Robin appeared to hear him as their kiss deepened. On either side of the couple, Kole and Sarah looked away awkwardly, the former seeming slightly amused and the latter definitely uncomfortable.

"Come on guys," Beast Boy said impatiently, forgetting his displeasure and glaring at them, "you're breaking the first ru- ahh! Starfire's breaking rule number two!" he shouted, covering his eyes with his forearm and twisting away.

Cyborg sighed and pushed himself onto his knees. Pulling his friends out of intimate embraces was not really how he had wanted to spend his birthday, yet here he was, wrapping an arm around Starfire's middle and trying to tug her away as gently as possible.

Unfortunately, Starfire's combined alien strength and desire to keep kissing her boyfriend resulted in Cyborg's efforts coming to naught (unless he wanted to pull really hard and risk knocking Kole in the head with his elbow and he did not want that). So he stood up, moved around to stand behind Robin, grabbed him under the arms, and pulled backwards.

It worked this time, and Starfire opened her eyes in confusion to see an equally-dazed Robin being dragged backwards.

"If you two don't mind, it's Starfire's turn to spin again," Cyborg informed them wryly, and Robin and Starfire exchanged a glance.

"I believe I have sufficiently learned how this game works and I no longer wish to participate," the redhead decided, pushing the bottle over to Sarah and standing up. "Sarah may take my turn," she said as she helped Robin up as well, and the two walked off, hands entwined.

Cyborg, who had returned to his seat, watched them go for a moment, thinking of proposing the dissolution of the group, vaguely noticing Sarah give the bottle a spin. He was just about to voice this idea when he glanced down at the bottle, which had stopped and was pointing at him.

Maybe he could play for a few more seconds…

* * *

A/N:

A little Jerikole for cartoongeek13, as promised. (: Action, action for everybody!

I felt a little weird about adding this one on here after I finished it, pretty much because it's not super super Robin/Starfire centric, but it's there at the end so yeah. The reason Starfire still wanted to play at first is because she didn't understand the kiss was always on the lips until after Speedy and Argent kissed. Kid Flash and Jinx had a fight if you didn't get my hints, maybe I'll write that sometime for some other thing I may or may not be thinking about doing hehe... But that wouldn't be for a bit probably.

Don't think there's anything else to say except til next time!


	12. tie

A/N:

Hello! Posting before midnight again, this is a nice change being fully awake and alert and all.

Don't think I have much to say here or afterwards, so yeah, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Titans or any Batman stuff.

* * *

"Thanks for coming with me to this, Star. I appreciate it."

Dick Grayson sat on the corner of the hotel bed, bent over and lacing up his dress shoes. He could hear shuffling noises from the bathroom to his left, and then the sound of a cosmetic product being capped.

"I am happy to, Robi- I mean, Richard."

His lips quirked upwards and he finished with his shoes, sitting up straight and reaching for his tie. "You sure you're going to call me the right name down there?" he teased, popping the collar of his dress shirt and looping the silky burgundy material around his neck.

Starfire poked her head out of the bathroom, and for the third time that evening Dick was momentarily thrown off by her altered appearance, courtesy of Cyborg's hologram ring. Her jade eyes, now with whites like the average person's, met his unmasked blue ones in a mock-glare.

"Do not worry, I will be the perfect date, _Richard_," she said, stern look breaking as she smiled halfway through her sentence. He returned the smile and she disappeared back into the bathroom.

"Are you confident you will refer to me with the proper name, as well?" she called.

"Of course, _Kory_," he replied as moved over the mirror by the hotel room door and began tying his tie, smirking upon hearing her giggle behind him.

He heard the bathroom door thunk quietly against the wall bumper and briefly saw Starfire flash in and out of view behind him, crossing the lush carpet to peek out of the curtains blocking the setting sun from entering the room.

"It was very generous of your father to rent this room for me," she remarked, admiring the view of the Gotham Harbor the large glass windows offered, a few yachts drifting around slowly as parties began aboard them. Turning his head slightly, he could see her soaking in the last rays of sun, a serene expression on her face.

"Yeah, he thought it would be best to make it seem like Kory wasn't staying with us," he replied, returning his attention to his tie.

He was glad Bruce had been amenable to his request that Starfire be allowed stay at the Manor while she was in Gotham to pose as Dick's date, though this arrangement involved her having to sneak out of her room after pretending to go to bed, fly to the Manor undetected, and return the next morning without anyone seeing her reenter through her twentieth-floor window. It was a bit convoluted and difficult, but that way they wouldn't be far apart at night (in case urgent Titan business came up, obviously).

He felt like Bruce's surprising agreeability partially had to do with the fact that he really needed Dick Grayson to make an appearance at this charity event, which, being Valentine's Day-themed as it was February, also required a date (something Starfire had been all-too-happy to agree to when Robin had asked).

"Plus, since the ballroom's right downstairs, we don't have to worry about traffic or anything," he added as he turned his collar back down over the finished tie hanging loosely around his neck, waiting to be tightened.

Starfire appeared in the mirror behind him, resting her hands on his shoulder blades and leaning her head on his left shoulder, smiling softly at his reflection in the mirror. "You look very nice," she told him, and he smiled and turned around to look at her.

"You look great, too," he told her sincerely, taking in the strapless ivory gown that complimented her ruby hair, currently pinned to the back of her head in an elegant curly up-do. Though he'd recently gone through a growth spurt that put them at the same height when both were shoeless, the light purple heels she was currently wearing gave her back an inch on him.

Her smile grew brighter and she ducked her head. "I thank you." She lifted her eyes after a moment, pausing them on his tie. "Your tie is askew," she noted, lifting her hands to fix it.

He glanced downwards as well. "Wha- oh, thanks."

The couple stood in silence as Starfire fiddled with the material around Dick's neck, centering it on his collar and then tightening it the rest of the way to his neck, careful not to choke him accidentally. She smoothed her hand down the length of the fabric, hesitated, and then grabbed it and looked up into his eyes, a twinkle in her own as she pulled him closer.

Dick barely had time to register the mischievous grin on her face before her mouth was on his, playful and eager. He wasted no time responding, feeling her smile into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her.

After a few seconds, the tone changed as the pace abruptly slowed from frisky to languid. She pressed her body to his and he felt heat spread through him. His hands shifted, one splaying against her bare shoulder and the other against her lower back, and she slid her own up his chest and around his neck.

The seconds ticked on and the kiss deepened. She ran a hand through his hair, breaking the kiss a few moments later and turning her head to look at something to her left as Dick began pressing his lips against her neck, not missing a beat.

"Richard…" Starfire began, trying to get his attention.

He gave a hum of acknowledgement, more interested in making his way down to her shoulder. He felt her hand on his cheek and she gently directed his face back up to hers.

"I believe it is time to leave," she informed him, smiling and nodding towards the clock hanging on the wall to his right. She took in his ruffled hair and flushed cheeks and grinned, unable to suppress a giggle.

He glanced at the clock and saw that she was right. But his heart was still racing and she looked so adorable when she laughed and the thought of going downstairs and spending hours pretending to smile and listen to old people talk now seemed even more arduous than before.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he acknowledged reluctantly, shoulders slumping as his hands fell from her back.

Starfire watched him, expression thoughtful. She reached out a hand and cupped his jaw; he looked up from where he'd been pouting at the floor moldings across the room and was met by her lips.

The kiss was gentle and lasted only a few seconds this time, Starfire pulling away as it began to heat up again.

"I believe the expression is, 'to hold you over?'" she explained, at the confused look of disappointment on her boyfriend's face.

He blinked and stared at her for a moment. "'Hold me over'?" he repeated, furrowing his eyebrows. "Hold me over til when?"

"Afterwards," she said simply. She then smiled, kissed his cheek, grabbed her clutch, and exited into the hallway.

The thought of going downstairs and spending hours pretending to smile and listen to old people talk suddenly became downright unbearable.


	13. stargazing

A/N:

Hello friends I am still here!

So I meant to finish this and get it up before I went back to school, but life creeps up on you and suddenly it's time to go back. School has started for me again, so now I have actual things to do with deadlines and grades and actual weight attached to them, boo. I definitely won't be updating as often as I had been during the summer, but I have more free time than I expected this semester so I'll definitely keep writing in my spare time, because yknow I really enjoy writing these. (: Hopefully I'll be able to upload a few more throughout the next couple months.

So yeah, without further ado, here it is! I imagine it taking place early on in season one, before Masks but after Final Exam. Enjoy!

* * *

It had been a slow day at Titans Tower. Two alerts the whole day, the first in the late morning, and the second in the mid-afternoon. After waiting around for a few hours in case there was a third emergency, Robin had retired to the crime lab to try and work out some leads on the masked man who'd freed Plasmus and taken out a hit on the Titans.

By the time he'd realized he should probably take a break, his stomach was growling and the Tower was oddly quiet. A quick glance out of the large glass windows on his way to the kitchen explained all of this: he'd holed himself away for approximately five hours while his teammates had presumably gone to bed.

He made himself a sandwich and strode over to the windows, looking out at the night-time view of Jump City; the inky black waters lapping at the island, winking lights crossing the bridge over the bay, tiny golden pinpricks of windows on the mainland. Judging by the darkness of the sky, it was probably after midnight by now, he guessed while munching his food. One look at his communicator confirmed this; it was a little past one in the morning.

And yet, Robin didn't feel too tired. From what he could see, it was a clear night, and the weather had been nice earlier that day so it was probably calm too.

Deciding he could use some fresh air, he finished his sandwich and made his way to the roof.

Robin was pleased to find that he was right; upon opening the door, he was greeted by a cool, gentle breeze. Grit crunched under his boots as he took a few steps across the roof and paused to stare up at the sky, inhaling the night air contently. The sky was cloudless, allowing the multitude of stars overhead to shine like tiny crystals scattered across a velvet blanket.

Turning his gaze back to the roof, he suddenly spotted a huddled figure over by the edge. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at it and his posture tensed, but after a few moments of studying it he realized it was Starfire.

Relaxing immediately, he smiled and made his way over to her, making sure to make a little more noise than he normally so he wouldn't startle her (he still hadn't completely shaken that habit from Gotham).

"Can't sleep?" he asked, taking a seat to her left and letting his legs dangle over the edge. Though the brief glimpse of the drop sent a spike of adrenaline through his body, he had no fear of falling; even if he did topple over the edge somehow, he had no doubt that Starfire would catch him.

Starfire briefly turned her head to smile at him and watch him sit, then returned her gaze forward. "Yes, I took one of the naps after dinner and woke up a little while ago," she explained, smiling sheepishly. "I was unable to resume my rest, so I came up here."

Robin chuckled and leaned back on his hands, staring up at the stars. "That's not so bad. I only just realized it was nighttime."

Starfire giggled, hugging her arms tighter around her knees. "I am glad to see you out of your office," she told him as she gazed at the moon's pearly reflection in the water. "I know humans are not as dependent on solar exposure as Tamaranians are, but I still believe it is not good to spend all day inside." She turned her head to look at him, resting her cheek on her knee.

"Yeah," Robin agreed, lowering his gaze to the waves and then back to the sky again. "Actually, during the winter months, lack of sunlight significantly affects some people. It's called seasonal affective disorder; one of the things doctors recommend is getting more light," he explained, a small glow of pride swelling in his chest when Starfire's eyes grew wider, the now-familiar expression of fascination that she would get whenever she learned something new about Earth on her face.

"How interesting," she murmured, staring absentmindedly at some point beyond Robin, then flicking her eyes back to him. "Perhaps humans are not as different as I thought."

He smiled. "Perhaps not."

They both tilted their heads back to admire the view above them and there was a beat of silence, filled by the sound of waves splashing against the shore.

"Can you see your planet from here?" Robin asked, and it was his turn to look at her while she continued to stare upwards.

"Yes," she replied, "but at this point in the solar cycle, it is not visible from this position."

She unfolded her legs and scooted back a bit, so when she lay down on her back her feet were six inches away from the edge of the building.

"There," she said, pointing her arm straight upwards into the air.

Robin, who had twisted around to follow her movement, looked up to try and see where she was pointing. Unable to discern the correct dot in the sky, he got up and moved to lay down next to her, careful to leave a bit of space between them.

"Where?" he asked, trying to follow the trajectory of her finger.

"It is the bright white one, between those two smaller yellow ones."

"Is it kind of pink, too?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, beaming. "You see it?"

"Yeah!" Robin replied, a small smile tugging at his own lips as he stared up at the tiny dot that held so meaning to the girl next to him. He put his hands behind his head to cushion it against the concrete roof.

He admired it for a moment more, and then a question entered his mind.

"Do you miss it?" he asked, turning his head to his right to watch her watch the stars.

A slight frown creased her previously-calm features. Her eyebrows knitted in thought, eyes fixed on Tamaran.

"It is… complicated," she said finally, and Robin immediately felt guilty. Those other aliens had taken her from her home, of course she would miss it, why did he ask something like that?

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, "if you don't wanna talk about it-"

"No, it is the all right," she assured him, turning her head to give him a tiny smile of reassurance and returning her gaze to the sky above, inscrutable expression back. "I love my home, and I still am feeling sick for it, but at the same time, I am not sure I would like to return just yet."

Though he was glad to hear she would not be leaving anytime soon, this response threw Robin for a loop and he immediately began turning this new information over in his mind. His brow creased and he turned his stare back to the heavens. His mind would've kicked into gear trying to unravel the puzzle of Starfire's past had she not continued speaking.

"I like Earth," she said, a smile now gracing her lips as her eyes roved over the stars. "It is fascinating…"

Robin missed her surreptitiously flash a sidelong glance at him, his eyes still on the constellations overhead. "Yeah, Earth isn't half-bad sometimes," he agreed. "Especially with a view like this. You're lucky," he told her, looking at her with a smile. "You can't get this just anywhere."

Starfire turned her head to meet his gaze, giggling and smiling back almost automatically. "On Tamaran, we believe the stars hold stories," she commented, continuing to watch his face. "Do humans have such beliefs?"

"Oh yeah," Robin replied, nodding his head. "All the different cultures have their own interpretations, though. The ones most commonly referred to here are the ancient Greek and Roman ones."

A tiny smile appeared on Starfire's face, sensing new information about to be relayed.

"See those three in a row over there?" he asked, pointing upwards as she had done. The alien girl scooted a bit closer to his side to better follow his indications.

"Yes," she replied, staring up at it.

"That's Orion's belt, and those stars there," he traced them in the air, "and there, those make his body and bow. There are a couple variations on the story, but the one I know says he was a hunter who was about to marry a goddess named Diana. Diana's brother disapproved, so he tricked her into accidentally shooting Orion with her bow. After she saw what she'd done, she was heartbroken and gave him a place among the stars."

He glanced to his right and suppressed a grin upon seeing that Starfire had shifted onto her side and was staring raptly at him, allowing a less-smug smile through instead.

"How sad," Starfire murmured, rolling onto her back and again contemplating the constellation.

After a few moments passed and she continued to stare soberly at the stars, Robin scrambled to change the tone.

"Aah... not all of the myths are about people though. That group over there is called Ursa Major. It's Latin for-"

"-Larger Bear!" Starfire finished delightedly, beaming up at the points of light he was indicating. "It is adorable!"

Robin's surprise at her knowledge of Latin was quickly forgotten in his relief that she no longer looked so somber. "Yeah, and inside of it is the Big Dipper; it looks kind of like a spoon, do you see it?"

He saw her pupils moving minutely as she narrowed her eyes, searching for the pattern. A moment later she lit up, grinning. "Yes! That is," she paused to yawn and blink her eyes a few times, "fascinating."

He raised his eyebrows at her with a smirk and she smiled sheepishly at him in apology.

Robin returned it and continued. "Over there is Ursa Minor; it's also called the Little Dipper, since…"

It was his turn to yawn and stretch momentarily before continuing. "Sorry; since it looks like a smaller version of Ursa Major."

He was starting to feel the time catch up with him; his eyelids suddenly felt heavier than they had a few minutes ago, and when a breeze blew across the roof he felt goosebumps raise on his skin. He shivered slightly and wished for a blanket, though he could still faintly feel the otherworldly heat emitted by Starfire despite being a few inches away.

Starfire had turned her head at the exact right moment to see him shiver; utterly indifferent to the chill, her tiny eyebrows furrowed minutely, obviously wondering what caused it. A moment later her eyes lit up as she identified the cause.

"You are cold?" she asked, unable to gauge exactly how cold it was to him.

He shrugged. "A little."

Next thing he knew, something very warm and soft was pressed to his side. Robin looked down and blinked in surprise at Starfire, who had cuddled up to him immediately.

"Is this better?" she asked, turning her face upwards to watch his reaction.

The heat from Starfire flowed from his side to warm his whole body against the brisk night air, accompanied by a strange prickle on the back of his neck when Starfire placed her hand on his chest, resting her fingertips on the yellow strings of his shirt.

"Yeah, actually," he replied, and she beamed and rested her head on his shoulder. After a moment of hesitation, Robin awkwardly brought his arm out from behind his head and curled it into a much more comfortable position around her shoulders.

The pair continued to stargaze for a bit, though their periods of silence grew longer and longer as time wore on. Eventually Robin craned his neck to peek at Starfire after a particularly long silence; her eyes were shut and a curtain of ruby-red hair that had slipped over her right eye was in danger of spilling over her whole face. The rise and fall of her chest had slowed to a pace that definitely indicated sleep.

With a soft snort and a smile, he lifted his hand to carefully brush back her hair behind her ear. Starfire stirred slightly, nuzzling into a more comfy position on his chest. Reluctantly, he realized that he should probably wake her up so they wouldn't fall asleep on the roof.

Starfire moved minutely, gripping the fabric of his uniform slightly and moving her body closer to his, causing a wave of warmth to cascade through him again.

Five more minutes, he told himself as he adjusted his arm around her shoulders. He would just close his eyes, rest them for a few moments…

Hours later, he awoke to the morning sun shining on his face, a warm weight on his arm, and the sound of males giggling, accompanied by the tell-tale click of blackmail being acquired.

* * *

A/N:

Headcannon that months later Starfire found those pictures of the two of them and put them in a team scrapbook.

I don't know a lot about the night sky other than I love to look at it and the names of a few constellations, so yeah please excuse any errors. Also if you've reviewed since I posted the last chapter and I didn't reply, I apologize, I read through them and meant to get to that but then a lot of time passed and now I'm posting this so yeah. Thank you so much for the reviews and messages though, I really appreciate them! I'll get back to replying to reviews and all that with this chapter. Later!


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